Mesencephalic progenitors can improve rotational behavior and reconstruct nigrostriatal pathway in PD rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of mesencephalic progenitors (MP) in treating Parkinson's disease (PD). MP were prepared from E(11-13) rats and proliferated in serum-free medium with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) for 10 days. Cells were then collected and implanted into the striatum only--single grafts or simultaneously into the substantia nigra (SN) and the striatum--double grafts. Twelve weeks after transplantation, DiI, a fluorescent dye, was microinjected into the ipsilateral striatum. Using this strategy, it was found that MP of double grafts had more potent effects on rotational behavior than that of single grafts. Injection of the retrograde tracer DiI into the striatum resulted in fluorescent-labeled cells within the intranigral grafts in double grafts. These data greatly support that MP transplants could not only improve rotational behavior, but does help to re-establish nigrostriatal connections so that it may become one efficient way in treating PD.