SEROTONERGIC SPROUTING IN PRIMATE MTP-INDUCED HEMIPARKINSONISM

Immunocytochemistry to serotonin, dopamine beta hydroxylase (DBH), and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) was studied in the brains of 2 cebus monkeys that had developed permanent hemiparkinsonism after intracarotid injection of 1.2 mg N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), and were sacrificed after 10-12 months. A pronounced depletion of TH-immunoreactive neurons was found in the substantia nigra, caudate nucleus, and putamen, ipsilaterally to the injected side. In these dopamine-denervated structures, the number of serotonergic fibers was increased in the ipsilateral compared with the contralateral side, or with an untreated control monkey. Serotonergic neurons in the brainstem appeared to be unaffected. Topography and number of DBH-positive fibers in the control and the MPTP-injected sides were comparable.