Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

AAV.shRNA-mediated downregulation of ROCK2 attenuates degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in toxin-induced models of Parkinson's disease in vitro and in vivo.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with prominent neuronal cell death in the substantia nigra (SN) and other parts of the brain. Previous studies in models of traumatic and neurodegenerative CNS disease showed that pharmacological inhibition of Rho-associated kinase (ROCK), a molecule involved in inhibitory signaling in the CNS, by small-molecule inhibitors improves neuronal survival and increases regeneration. Most small-molecule inhibitors, however, offer only limited target specificity and also inhibit other kinases, including both ROCK isoforms. To establish the role of the predominantly brain-expressed ROCK2 isoform in models of regeneration and PD, we used adeno-associated viral vectors (AAV) to specifically knockdown ROCK2 in neurons. Rat primary midbrain neurons (PMN) were transduced with AAV expressing short-hairpin-RNA (shRNA) against ROCK2 and LIM-domain kinase 1 (LIMK1), one of the downstream targets of ROCK2. While knock-down of ROCK2 and LIMK1 both enhanced neurite regeneration in a traumatic scratch lesion model, only ROCK2-shRNA protected PMN against 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) toxicity. Moreover, AAV.ROCK2-shRNA increased levels of the pro-survival markers Bcl-2 and phospho-Erk1. In vivo, AAV.ROCK2-shRNA vectors were injected into the ipsilateral SN and a unilateral 6-OHDA striatal lesion was performed. After four weeks, behavioral, immunohistochemical and biochemical alterations were investigated. Downregulation of ROCK2 protected dopaminergic neurons in the SN from 6-OHDA-induced degeneration and resulted in significantly increased TH-positive neuron numbers. This effect, however, was confined to nigral neuronal somata as striatal terminal density, dopamine and metabolite levels were not significantly preserved. Interestingly, motor behavior was improved in the ROCK2-shRNA treated animals compared to control after four weeks. Our studies thus confirm ROCK2 as a promising therapeutic target in models of PD and demonstrate that neuron-specific inhibition of ROCK2 promotes survival of lesioned dopaminergic neurons.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

Related Resources

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app