pink1, atp13a2 and uchl1 expressions are affected by inflammation in the brain

In Parkinson's disease (PD), several genes have been identified as the PD-related genes, however, the regulatory mechanisms of these gene expressions have not been fully identified. In this study, we investigated the effect of inflammation, one of the major risk factors in PD on expressions of the PD-related genes. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was intraperitoneally administered to mature male zebrafish and gene expressions in the brains were examined by real-time PCR. In the inflammation-related genes, expressions of tnfb, il1b and il6 were increased at 2 days post administration in the 10 μg group, and tnfb expression was also increased at 4 days post administration in the 1 μg and 10 μg group. In the PD-related genes, pink1 expression was significantly decreased at 4 days, atp13a2 expression was significantly increased at 7 days, and uchl1 expression was significantly decreased at 7 days. This suggests that pink1, atp13a2 and uchl1 expressions are regulated by inflammation, and this regulatory mechanism might be involved in the progress of PD.