Modeling neurodegenerative diseases in vivo review

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the major neurodegenerative disorders. The etiology of this disease is likely due to combinations of environmental and genetic factors. Symptomatic hallmarks of PD are tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity and postural instability. On the morphological and anatomical level, PD is characterized by massive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, leading to a severe loss of striatal dopaminergic fibers and to a massive reduction of dopamine levels in the striatum. In addition, PD is characterized by the appearance of Lewy bodies within the surviving dopaminergic neurons. Animal models of PD allow getting insight into the mechanisms of several symptoms of PD thereby providing indispensable tools for basic and applied research. The biochemical and cellular changes that occur following administration of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) in rodents or monkeys are remarkably similar to those seen in idiopathic PD. In this review, the main characteristics of experimental models of PD induced by the neurotoxic compound MPTP are reviewed.