Rotenone Treatment Mimics Early Parkinson's Disease in Neural Cells
Author Information
Author(s): Borland M Kathleen, Trimmer Patricia A, Rubinstein Jeremy D, Keeney Paula M, Mohanakumar KP, Liu Lei, Bennett James P Jr
Primary Institution: Center for the Study of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Center of Excellence, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Hypothesis
Chronic, low-dose rotenone exposure will reproduce Lewy neurites and mitochondrial dysfunction observed in early stages of Parkinson's disease.
Conclusion
Rotenone treatment of differentiated SH-SY5Y cells leads to neuritic retraction and partial cell death, mimicking early Parkinson's disease pathology without forming Lewy bodies.
Supporting Evidence
- 60% of cells died after 21 days of rotenone treatment.
- Mitochondrial movement velocities were significantly reduced by 8 days of rotenone exposure.
- Gene expression analysis showed a majority of genes were under-expressed in treated cells.
- Rotenone treatment induced the formation of neuritic swellings resembling Lewy neurites.
Takeaway
When we give a chemical called rotenone to special brain cells, they start to die and change shape like the cells in people with Parkinson's disease.
Methodology
Differentiated SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells were treated with 50 nM rotenone for up to 21 days to assess cell death, mitochondrial movement, and gene expression changes.
Limitations
The study used a neuroblastoma cell line rather than primary neurons, which may affect the generalizability of the findings.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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