Dopamine cell morphology and glial cell hypertrophy and process branching in the nigrostriatal system after striatal 6-OHDA analyzed by specific sterological tools

Morphological changes in the dopamine neurons and glial cells of the rat mid-brain ascending dopamine pathways were investigated after a partial lesion induced by unilateral striatal injection of a small dose of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Fourteen days after lesion, animals showed contralateral rotation induced by apomorphine injection. After behavioral analysis, rats were killed and their brains processed for the immunohistochemistry tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a marker for dopamine cells, as well as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and OX-42, markers for astrocyte and microglia, respectively. Stereological tools were employed in the quantifications. The volumes of the regions of the striatal TH immunoreactive disappearance, as well as the astroglial and microglial activation were several folds increased compared to control saline-injected rats. The optical disector detected decreases in the estimated total number of dopamine cells in the entire ipsilateral pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SNc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) as well as in the estimated total number of varicosity profiles in the entire ipsilateral neostriaturn. The stereological too rotator showed no changes either in the mean or in the histogram distribution of the cytoplasmic volume of the nigral and VTA dopamine cells of 6-OHDA lesioned rats. Increases in the estimated total number of GFAP positive astrocytes were found in the entire neostriaturn bilaterally as well as in the ipsilateral entire SNc and VTA of 6-OHDA lesioned rats. The estimated total number of OX42 immunoreactive microglial profiles was elevated only in the ipsilateral entire neostriaturn of the lesioned rats. The rotator detected cytoplasmic hypertrophy in the astrocytes, and also a shift to the right of the gaussian curves of the normal distribution of the logarithmic plotted values of the astroglial cell body volumes,of the neostriatum bilaterally as well as in the ipsilateral SNc and VTA of the striatal 6-OHDA injected rats. Cytoplasmic hypertrophy of microglia, and also a shift to the right of the gaussian curves of the values of microglia cell body volumes were seen only in the ipsilateral neostriatum; however, the point intercepts revealed an increased amount of microglial processes in the ipsilateral SNc and VTA of the lesioned rats. Specific stereological methods can be applied on detection of regionally different forms of cellular astroglial and microglial reaction after a partial lesion of dopamine pathway.