Greene-5P01NS017771-220003

Parkinson's disease is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no cure. The cause of PD symptoms is loss of dopamine neurons in the midbrain, but it is not known why these neurons die. Pesticide exposure is epidemiologically associated with PD, and administration of the organic pesticide rotenone to rats recapitulates most of the behavioral, neurochemical, and neuropathological findings in PD, including specific death of dopamine neurons. We have developed an in vitro model of rotenone toxicity using a dopaminergic cell line (SK-N-MC neuroblastoma cells) that mimics many of the cellular changes seen with in vivo rotenone toxicity and with PD, such as alpha-synuclein aggregation and oxidative damage. We are currently using this simple model to explore mechanisms of dopaminergic neurodegeneration, with our ultimate goal being the discovery of novel mechanisms for dopaminergic neuroprotection in PD.

21