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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

The Use of Primary Human Fibroblasts for Monitoring Mitochondrial Phenotypes in the Field of Parkinson's Disease
Published on: October 3, 2012
Pleiotrophin over-expression provides trophic support to dopaminergic neurons in parkinsonian rats
Irene Re Taravini1, Mariela Chertoff, Eduardo G Cafferata
1Laboratorio de Parkinson Experimental, Instituto de Investigaciones Farmacológicas (ININFA-CONICET-UBA), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. taravini@ffyb.uba.ar.
Background:
Pleiotrophin is known to promote the survival and differentiation of dopaminergic neurons in vitro and is up-regulated in the substantia nigra of Parkinson's disease patients. To establish whether pleiotrophin has a trophic effect on nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in vivo, we injected a recombinant adenovirus expressing pleiotrophin in the substantia nigra of 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rats.
Results:
The viral vector induced pleiotrophin over-expression by astrocytes in the substantia nigra pars compacta, without modifying endogenous neuronal expression. The percentage of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive cells as well as the area of their projections in the lesioned striatum was higher in pleiotrophin-treated animals than in controls.
Conclusions:
These results indicate that pleiotrophin over-expression partially rescues tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive cell bodies and terminals of dopaminergic neurons undergoing 6-hydroxydopamine-induced degeneration.
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