0

Dopamine Receptor Activation Increases Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Experimental Stroke

Enida Kuric, Tadeusz Wieloch, Karsten Ruscher

Exp Neurol. 2013 Sep;247:202-8.

PMID: 23664961

Abstract:

Treatment with levodopa enhances functional recovery after experimental stroke but its mechanisms of action are elusive. Reactive astrocytes in the ischemic hemisphere are involved in mechanisms promoting recovery and also express dopamine 1 (D1) and dopamine 2 (D2) receptors. Here we investigated if the activation of astrocytic dopamine receptors (D1 and D2) regulates the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) after combined in vitro hypoxia/aglycemia (H/A) and studied the expression of GDNF in the ischemic brain after treatment with levodopa/benserazide following transient occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (tMCAO) in the rat. Twenty-four hours after H/A, GDNF levels were upregulated in exposed astrocytes compared to normoxic control cultures and further elevated by the addition of the selective D1 receptor agonist (R)-(+)-SKF-38393 hydrochloride while D1 receptor antagonism by R(+)-SCH-23390 hydrochloride significantly reduced GDNF. No effect on GDNF levels was observed by the application of the D2 receptor agonist R(-)-2,10,11-trihydroxy-N-propyl-noraporphine hydrobromide hydrate or S-(-)-eticlopride hydrochloride (D2 receptor antagonist). After tMCAO, GDNF was upregulated in D1 expressing reactive astrocytes in the peri-infarct area. In addition, treatment with levodopa/benserazide significantly increased GDNF levels in the infarct core and peri-infarct area after tMCAO without affecting the expression of glial fibrillar acidic protein (GFAP), an intermediate filament and marker of reactive gliosis. After stroke, GDNF levels increase in the ischemic hemisphere in rats treated with levodopa, implicating GDNF in the mechanisms of tissue reorganization and plasticity and in l-DOPA enhanced recovery of lost brain function. Our results support levodopa treatment as a potential recovery enhancing therapy in stroke patients.

Chemicals Related in the Paper:

Catalog Number Product Name Structure CAS Number Price
AP81702423 (R)-(+)-SKF-38393 hydrochloride (R)-(+)-SKF-38393 hydrochloride 81702-42-3 Price
AP81702434 S-(−)-SKF-38393 hydrochloride S-(−)-SKF-38393 hydrochloride 81702-43-4 Price
qrcode