Effects of adrenal medulla grafts on plasma catecholamines and rotational behavior

The mechanisms by which adrenal medulla grafts influence the function of host brains in animal models of Parkinson's disease are unclear. To explore this issue, fragments of adrenal medulla or sciatic nerve were transplanted into the lateral ventricle of bilaterally adrenalectomized (ADX) or sham-ADX rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the substantia nigra. Additional control group received sham-transplantation surgery. Behavioral effects of these procedures were tested following administration of apomorphine, amphetamine, or nicotine. Plasma catecholamines were measured before and after transplantation surgery. In both ADX and sham-ADX rats, adrenal medulla grafts produced greater decreases in apomorphine-induced rotational behavior than did sciatic nerve grafts or sham-transplanted groups. Decreases in rotation were smaller in ADX than in sham-ADX animals, regardless of graft treatment. Plasma catecholamines increased after transplantation surgery in each of the sham-ADX groups, regardless of graft type. Increases in plasma dopamine concentrations were associated with decreases in rotational behavior. Five months after transplantation, grafted chromaffin cells demonstrated catecholamine fluorescence, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and chromogranin A immunoreactivities, and expression of TH mRNA. It is concluded that adrenal medulla grafts produce decreases in apomorphine-induced rotation through a combination of two independent effects. One is a specific effect of adrenal medulla grafts. The second is a nonspecific effect that requires an intact adrenal gland and may be related to increases in plasma catecholamine concentrations.