Nuclear factor-kappa B activation is not involved in a MPTP model of Parkinson's disease

In the present study the involvement of hydroxyl free radicals and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation was investigated in the MPTP (1-methyl -4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) model of Parkinson's disease. MPTP (3 0 mg/kg, s.c.) produced a significant 2-fold increase in hydroxyl free radi cals in the striatum of C57BL/6 mice determined by microdialysis in combina tion with the salicylate hydroxylation assay. Electrophoretic mobility shif t assays did not detect NF-kappaB activation after MPTP treatment. Furtherm ore, p50-deficient mice showed only minor differences in striatal dopamine and metabolite levels as well as tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity afte r MPTP administration in comparison to wildtype mice. We postulate that, al though hydroxyl radical production was enhanced, NF-kappaB plays only a min or role in the MPTP model because neither neurochemical nor immunocytochemi cal parameters were altered in:p50-deficient mice in comparison to controls . NeuroReport 12:1049-1053 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.