Haloperidol induces Fos and related molecules in intrastriatal grafts derived from fetal striatal primordia

Haloperidol induces Fos and related molecules (Fos-related antigens, FRAs) in adult striatal neurons. We tested whether a similar induction of Fos and FRAs by haloperidol injection would occur in fetal striatal neurons transplanted into adult quinolinic acid-lesioned striatum. We found that Fos and FRAs were induced in striatal neurons after haloperidol. This induction had a time course in transplanted neurons that was identical to the time course of induction in normal adult striatum. Furthermore, the relative numbers of Fos- and FRA-immunopositive neurons induced by haloperidol were identical for both transplanted and normal striatal neurons. These results provide the first demonstration that neurons in intrastriatal grafts derived from fetal striatal primordia have similar intracellular biochemical characteristics to normal adult striatal neurons.