Effects of UCH-L1 on alpha-synuclein over-expression mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

The rare inherited form of Parkinson's disease (PD), PARK5, is caused by a missense mutation in ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) gene, resulting in Ile93Met substitution in its gene product (UCH-L1(Ile93Met)). PARK5 is inherited in an autosomal-dominant mode, but whether the Ile93Met mutation gives rise to a gain-of-toxic-function or loss-of-function of UCH-L1 protein remains controversial. Here, we investigated the selective vulnerabilities of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in UCH-L1-transgenic (Tg) and spontaneous UCH-L1-null gracile axonal dystrophy mice to an important PD-causing insult, abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein (alphaSyn).

Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor protects against MPTP-induced dopaminergic cell death in mice by altering Bcl-2/Bax expression levels.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been used for the treatment of neutropenia in hematologic disorders. The neuroprotective effects of G-CSF were reported in neurological disease models. In the present study, we examined whether G-CSF can protect dopaminergic neurons against MPTP-induced cell death in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.