Plasticity-Enhancing Effects of Levodopa Treatment after Stroke.
Dopaminergic treatment in combination with rehabilitative training enhances long-term recovery after stroke. However, the underlying mechanisms on structural plasticity are unknown. Here, we show an increased dopaminergic innervation of the ischemic territory during the first week after stroke induced in Wistar rats subjected to transient occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (tMCAO) for 120 min. This response was also found in rats subjected to permanent focal ischemia induced by photothrombosis (PT) and mice subjected to PT or tMCAO. Dopaminergic branches were detected in the infarct core of mice and rats in both stroke models. In addition, the Nogo A pathway was significantly downregulated in rats treated with levodopa (LD) compared to vehicle-treated animals subjected to tMCAO. Specifically, the number of Nogo A positive oligodendrocytes as well as the levels of Nogo A and the Nogo A receptor were significantly downregulated in the peri-infarct area of LD-treated animals, while the number of Oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2 positive cells increased in this region after treatment. In addition, we observed lower protein levels of Growth Associated Protein 43 in the peri-infarct area compared to sham-operated animals without treatment effect. The results provide the first evidence of the plasticity-promoting actions of dopaminergic treatment following stroke.
['Talhada|Daniela|D|', 'Marklund|Niklas|N|0000-0002-9797-5626', 'Wieloch|Tadeusz|T|', 'Kuric|Enida|E|', 'Ruscher|Karsten|K|']
D000818:Animals D002545:Brain Ischemia D004195:Disease Models, Animal D015259:Dopamine Agents D059290:Dopaminergic Neurons D015536:Down-Regulation D019922:GAP-43 Protein D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery D007980:Levodopa D008297:Male D051379:Mice D009473:Neuronal Plasticity D000070798:Nogo Proteins D000070156:Nogo Receptors D000076104:Oligodendrocyte Transcription Factor 2 D009836:Oligodendroglia D017208:Rats, Wistar D020521:Stroke D013927:Thrombosis
Nogo A oligodendrocyte Nogo receptor dopamine neuronal plasticiticy stroke recovery