Evaluation of the integrity of the dopamine system in a rodent model of parkinson's disease: Small animal positron emission tomography compared to behavioral assessment and autoradiography

Elissa M. Strome, Ivan L. Cepeda, Vesna Sossi, Doris J. Doudet

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

46 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: In the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD), it is important to determine lesion severity. This evaluation can be performed in vivo, through evaluation of dopamine (DA)-dependent motor function or with small animal positron emission tomography (microPET), or at postmortem, by examining markers for DA neurons. Procedures: Rats were given mild or severe unilateral 6-OHDA lesions, scanned with the tracer [11C](±)dihydrotetrabenazine ([11C]DTBZ), and tested on a tapered/ledged beam-walking task. At postmortem, autoradiography was performed with [11C]DTBZ. Results: Autoradiography was significantly correlated with microPET and behavioral scores, whereas the microPET and behavioral data were not significantly correlated. Conclusions: This study shows that behavioral analysis, microPET, and autoradiography are all good tools for measuring the integrity of the DA system, and demonstrates the utility of the tapered/ledged beam-walking test to screen for lesion severity, as well as the importance of including postmortem analysis after in vivo imaging studies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)292-299
Number of pages8
JournalMolecular Imaging and Biology
Volume8
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • 6-OHDA
  • Behavior
  • Dopamine
  • MicroPET
  • Partial volume effect
  • Rodent
  • Striatum
  • Tapered beam-walking task
  • VMAT [C]DTBZ

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