1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine induced Parkinson's disease in zebrafish

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common age associated neurodegenerative disease, which has been extensively studied for its etiology and phenotype. PD has been widely studied in alternate model system such as rodents towards understanding the role of neurotoxin by inducing PD. This study is aimed to understand the biomechanism of PD in zebrafish model system induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). The phenotype and role of various genes and proteins for Parkinsonism were tested and evaluated in this study using behavior, molecular and proteomic approaches. Zebrafish PD model induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine showed a significant level of decrease in the movement with erratic swimming pattern and increased freezing bouts. CHCHD2, EEF2B, LRRK2, PARK7, PARK2, POLG, SNCGB and SYNB genes were differentially regulated at the transcript level in PD zebrafish. Similarly a total of 73 proteins were recognized as differentially expressed in the nervous system of zebrafish due to Parkinsonism based on quantitative proteomics approach. Proteins such as NEFL, MUNC13-1, NAV2 and GAPVD1 were down regulated in the zebrafish brain for the PD phenotype, which were associated with the neurological pathways. This zebrafish based PD model can be used as a potential model system for screening prospective drug molecules for PD.