DISTRIBUTION AND NUMBER OF TRANSFERRIN RECEPTORS IN PARKINSONS-DISEASE AND IN MPTP-TREATED MICE

Transferrin is a glycoprotein that functions primarily to deliver iron to the cell. Recent studies suggest that the transferrin receptor mediates the intracellular delivery and transport of iron bound to transferrin in the CNS. Iron-catalyzed free radical generation has been proposed as a possible cause of nigral cell death in Parkinson's disease. Our hypothesis is that abnormal iron handling by the transferrin receptor may contribute to the formation of free radical species which catalyze the lipid peroxidation of nigral cell membranes. We have assessed the number of transferrin receptors on membrane fractions prepared from the human striatum from control subjects and patients with Parkinson's disease. Equilibrium-binding studies demonstrated a reversible, saturable, and high-affinity transferrin binding site (KD = 3 nM) in human brain membranes. Regional binding assays indicate that the number of transferrin receptors in the putamen was reduced significantly in Parkinson's disease. The density of transferrin receptors was unaltered in membranes prepared from the caudate nuclei and the globus pallidus. To address the possibility that transferrin receptors are located on dopaminergic terminals, we have examined the distribution and number of transferrin receptors in the striatum of MPTP-treated mice using in vitro autoradiographic methods. In these experiments, the loss of dopaminergic terminals in the striatum was visualized by differential [3H]mazindol uptake site autoradiography. A marked reduction in the density of both transferrin receptors and [3H]mazindol binding sites was observed in the mouse striatum 7 days post-MPTP treatment. Quantitative densitometric analysis demonstrated a recovery in [125I]ferrotransferrin binding in the striata of mice sacrificed at later survival times. The time-course for the recovery of striatal transferrin receptors preceded the rise in [3H]mazindol binding sites. Taken together, these observations suggest that transferrin receptors may be located, in part, on dopaminergic terminals. The recovery of [125I]ferrotransferrin binding in the striatum may reflect early sprouting of dopaminergic fibers. Alternatively, transferrin receptors may be up-regulated in surviving dopaminergic terminals as a cellular adaptation to increased metabolic activity. © 1991.