NEUROPEPTIDE LEVELS IN THE BASAL GANGLIA OF AGED COMMON MARMOSETS FOLLOWING PROLONGED TREATMENT WITH MPTP

Aged common marmosets were treated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP; 0.5-2.0 mg/kg/week i.p.) for 16 or 24 weeks, observed for a total of 30 weeks and then killed for measurement of biochemical parameters in basal ganglia. The MPTP treatment induced a marked depletion in dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid levels in the caudate nucleus and putamen. In contrast, the concentrations of five neuropeptides: [Met5]-enkephalin, [Leu5]-enkephalin, cholecystokinin, substance P and neurotensin as measured by a combined HPLC/RIA method, remained unaltered in all basal ganglia regions examined. Enkephalin precursor levels, as reflected by cryptic [Met5]-enkephalin content, were increased in the putamen, but not in the caudate nucleus, as a consequence of MPTP administration. Cryptic [Leu5]-enkephalin content remained unchanged in the striatum of MPTP treated marmosets. Overall, these results suggest an increase in striatal [Met5]-enkephalin release following chronic MPTP treatment of aged marmosets. However, the chronic treatment of aged marmosets with MPTP does not reproduce the neuropeptide alterations characteristic of Parkinson's disease.