Increasing Nigral Tyrosine Hydroxylase Expression as a Mechanism of Exercise-Mediated Recovery: Evaluation in Toxin and Rat Parkinson's Disease Genetic Models
Abstract
The health benefits of regular exercise are documented in hundreds of studies. More recently, clinical studies indicate exercise may alleviate motor symptoms of Parkinsons disease (PD). Understanding how exercise affects the CNS to produce these patient benefits is critical for identifying highly-translatable targets that would enable pharmacological or genetic approaches to improve motor function in PD patients that can no longer exercise. Despite much work in rodent PD models, the mechanisms of exercise-related motor benefits are not established. A critical guideline for identifying translatable exercise-responsive targets in human PD is to conduct exercise in PD rodent models that tethers the exercise intensity and frequency within the capabilities of the PD patient. Our goal is to utilize two different rat PD models (toxin- or genetic-based) to evaluate the exercise impact on motor function and nigrostriatal mechanisms in both the striatum and substantia nigra (SN). Based upon previous work from others and our lab, we are testing the hypothesis that exercise related motor benefits are not dependent upon augmenting dopamine (DA) function in the striatum, but within the SN. Evidence to support a role for nigral DA function in exercise-related motor benefits will guide research for genetic and pharmacological strategies to augment DA function in the SN for optimal relief of motor disability in the PD patient.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1156789
Entities
People
- Michael F. Salvatore
Organizations
- University of North Texas Health Science Center