Foetal ventral mesencephalic cell suspension grafts to the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat reduce the rate of dopamine uptake in the contralateral striatum

The present study employed fast cyclic voltammetry, at carbon-fibre microelectrodes, to monitor and compare the rate of dopamine uptake in the rat striatum contralateral to (a) the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned/grafted striatum and (b) the 6-OHDA-lesioned/sham grafted striatum. Cell suspensions of foetal rat ventral mesencephalic tissue were grafted into the dopamine-depleted striatum of unilaterally 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. Six weeks after grafting, animals with functional, mature grafts were monitored for dopamine elimination in the contralateral striatum following electrical stimulation of the median forebrain bundle, before and after treatment with the dopamine uptake inhibitor GBR 12909. Compared to animals with sham grafts, amphetamine-amplified rotational behaviour was significantly reduced in animals with grafts of foetal ventral mesencephalic tissue. Fast cyclic voltammetric measurements followed by evaluation with the aid of a kinetic model revealed that in grafted animals, the rate of dopamine uptake via the high affinity uptake mechanism, following treatment with GBR 12909, was significantly reduced when compared to sham grafted animals.