Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Augments Rotational Behavior and Nigrostriatal Dopamine Turnover in Vivo (Nigrostratal Neurons/Parknon Dsease/Neostratum) C
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Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 89, pp. 11347-11351, December 1992 Neurobiology Brain-derived neurotrophic factor augments rotational behavior and nigrostriatal dopamine turnover in vivo (nigrostratal neurons/Parknon dsease/neostratum) C. ANTHONY ALTAR*, CAROLYN B. BOYLAN*, CARL JACKSON*, SUSAN HERSHENSONt, JAMES MILLERt, STANLEY J. WIEGAND*, RONALD M. LINDSAY*, AND CAROLYN HYMAN* *Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591; and tAmgen, Inc., 1900 Oak Terrace Lane, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320 Communicated by Norman Davidson, August 4, 1992 (receivedfor review April 6, 1992) ABSTRACT Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a embryonic dopaminergic neurons in the absence of glia and member of the nerve growth factor (NGF)-related family of in serum-free conditions (5, 11, 13, 14). Several mitogenic neurotrophins, promotes the survival and differentiation of growth factors, including epidermal growth factor and basic cultured ngal dopamine neurons. Two-week infusions of fibroblast growth factor, also promote the growth of cultured BDNF were made above the right pars compacta of the sub- or transplanted mesencephalic dopamine neurons (15-19). stantia nigra in adult rats. Systemic injection of these a s However, these in vitro and in vivo effects appear to be with (+)-amphetamine, a dopamine-releasing drug, induced 3 mediated via astrocytes (15, 16). or 4 body rotations per minute directed away from the nil It remains unknown whether BDNF exerts neurotrophic infuson site. Neither supranigral NGF nor neocortical BDNF effects on central nervous system neurons in vivo. Injections nfusions induced rotational behavior. Systemic i jections ofthe of 17-I-labeled BDNF into the rat neostriatum (area of ni- postsynaptic dopaine receptor agonist apomorphine did not grostriatal dopamine neuron terminals) result in a pharma- induce rotations in these animals, demonstrating a presynaptic cologically specific retrograde transport of 125I-BDNF to dopamine neuron locus for BDNF action. In support of this, dopamine neuron cell bodies in the pars compacta of the neostriatal levels of the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid substantia nigra (20). The present study investigated whether (HVA) were elevated by 28%, and the HVA/doaie and chronic infusion of BDNF above the pars compacta or into dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC)/dpne ratios were the rat neostriatum can augment functional capacities of elevated by 56% and 34%, respectively, in the BDNF-infused nigrostriatal dopamine neurons. For behavioral measures, brain hemisphere. BDNF augmented striatal concentrations of we exploited the well-known ability of systemic injections of HVA and DOPAC and the metabolite/dopam ratios to even (+)-amphetamine to induce body rotations away from the greater extents after (+)-amphemie injection, when peak side of the brain that contains the stronger nigrostriatal rotational effects occurred. Inrriatal infions of BDNF dopamine system (21, 22). For neurochemical measures, produced fewer rotations per minute (1-2.5) after (+)- dopamine and its metabolites dihydroxyphenylacetic acid amphetmine and smaller elevations in HVA and the HVA/do- (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured in the pamine ratio (15% and 30%, respectively) than after suprani- neostriatum to reveal changes in dopamine turnover and gral delivery. Neither striatal dopamine, -aminobutyric acid, metabolism (22-25). nor acetylcholine high-affinity uptake or the synthetic enzymes for these neurotrnmitters was altered by BDNF. These be- MATERIALS AND METHODS havioral and neurochemical effects demonstrate an action of BDNF on dopamine neurons in vivo and are consistent with a Production, Formulation, Stability, and Delivery of BDNF. potential role for BDNF in the treatment of Parkinson disease. Recombinant human BDNF (26) was at least as active as native BDNF isolated from pig brain when compared in It is well established that nerve growth factor (NGF) pro- cultures of dorsal root ganglion explants or dissociated neu- motes the in vitro survival and differentiation of cultured rons (Y. Barde, personal communication). BDNF was di- Intra- luted in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) to 1.0 mg/ml and embryonic basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (1, 2). supplemented in some cases with 0.1% bovine serum albumin cranial infusions of NGF attenuate the atrophy of these (BSA) (protease-free; Boehringer Mannheim). Either formu- neurons following a lesion of the septohippocampal pathway lation (1 ml) was spiked with 1 Aul of 1251-BDNF and loaded (3, 4). However, the majority of central nervous system into Alzet 2002 osmotic pumps (flow rate, 0.5 sud/hr; Alza). neurons tested do not respond to NGF, including dopamine Each pump was connected to an 11.2-cm piece of silated neurons of the substantia nigra tested in vitro (5, 6) or in vivo PE50 tubing (Micro-Renathane; Braintree Scientific). The (7). Because the etiology of Parkinson's disease results from pump was immersed in a glass vial that contained PBS and the loss of these neurons, the identity of a dopamine neuro- 0.002% sodium azide and was maintained at 370C for 2 weeks. trophic factor has been an area of considerable interest. One The effluent was collected into 400 A.l of PBS at 4-day such protein appears to be brain-derived neurotrophic factor intervals. Samples were assessed for BDNF activity as (BDNF) (8). Deduction of a partial amino acid sequence for described (5). BDNF led to its molecular cloning (9) and production by Animal Surgery. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-240 g; n recombinant expression systems. BDNF, like NGF, sup- = 6-12 per group) were treated in compliance with AALAC ports the survival and differentiation of cultured cholinergic Each osmotic pump was connected to a 2-cm neurons (10, 11) and quail dorsal root ganglia in vivo (12). In guidelines. contrast to NGF, BDNF also enhances in vitro survival of Abbreviations: BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor; BSA, bovine serum albumin; ChAT, choline acetyltransferase; DOPAC, The publication costs ofthis article were defrayed in part by page charge dihydroxyphenylacetic acid; GABA, y-aminobutyric acid; GAD, payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" glutamic acid decarboxylase; HVA, homovanillic acid; NGF, nerve in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. growth factor; TOH, tyrosine hydroxylase. 11347 Downloaded by guest on September 30, 2021 11348 Neurobiology: Altar et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89 (1992) piece of tubing and a 28-G osmotic pump connector cannula hindlimb scratching, sniffing, limb flicks, jumping, or snout 5.5 mm long for intrastriatal infusions or 6.8 mm long for contact with the cage surface. There was a transient lowering supranigral infusions (Plastics One, Roanoke, VA). The of body weight that lasted 2-4 days after surgery in several pumps and flow moderators were filled with vehicle (sterile groups ofanimals that received BDNF into the striatum and, PBS with or without 0.1% BSA), BDNF (1 mg/ml), or murine to a lesser extent, the substantia nigra. The body weights of NGF (1 mg/ml) to deliver 12 jug/day of either neurotrophic the BDNF-treated animals increased over the next 2 weeks factor and were implanted during general anesthesia (4). This at a rate equal to that ofvehicle-treated animals and exceeded dose of BDNF was used because intracerebroventricular their preoperative body weight but remained 10-15% (sup- infusions of this dose for 2 weeks did not alter striatal ranigral delivery) or 15-20%o (striatal delivery) below vehicle- dopamine or dopamine metabolite levels (unpublished ob- infused animals. servations). A 1-mm-diameter hole was drilled in the calva- Animals receiving supranigral infusions of BDNF pro- rium either above the right central caudate-putamen (at the duced an average of 3 or 4 contraversive rotations per min following skull surface coordinates: anterior, 0.3 mm; lateral, and nearly 3 net contraversive rotations per min during the 80 3.0 mm) or above the right substantia nigra (at the following min after (+)-amphetamine administration (Fig. 1) and up to interaural coordinates: anterior, 2.5 mm; lateral from mid- 4 or 5 contraversive rotations per min during 10-min intervals line, 2.7 mm) and the appropriate cannula was inserted. from 20 to 80 min after (+)-amphetamine injection (Fig. 2). Cannulas (1.6 mm long) that delivered BDNF into the neo- Supranigral infusions of vehicle (Fig. 1) or murine NGF or cortex were inserted by using the supranigral infusion coor- neocortical infusions of vehicle or BDNF (data not shown) dinates. did not induce rotational behavior after (+)-amphetamine Rotational Behavior. Thirteen days after surgery, rotational injection. A subcutaneous dose ofthe postsynaptic dopamine behavior (21, 22) was measured with an automated rotational receptor agonist apomorphine (0.5 mg/kg) failed to induce monitor (Rota-Count 8; Columbus Instruments, Colombus, rotations in rats that received supranigral infusions ofvehicle OH) immediately after the administration ofvehicle (1 ml per or BDNF, yet (+)-amphetamine given 2 days later to these kg of body weight), (+)-amphetamine sulfate (3.3 mg of free animals induced contraversive rotations (Fig. 3) as observed base per kg ofbody weight, i.p.), or apomorphine HCl (0.5 mg in the four prior experiments. of free base per kg of body weight, s.c.) (21, 22). Complete HPLC revealed that supranigral BDNF infusions produced rotations (3600) were recorded for both clockwise (ipsiversive a 28% elevation