Inhibition of rat brain monoamine oxidase by some analogues of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion

To clarify the essential chemical structures of the neurotoxins, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and its oxidized product, 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+), that govern nigrostriatal dopamine neuron toxicity, interactions of several structurally related compounds of MPTP or MPP+ with monoamine oxidase (MAO) in rat forebrain homogenates were studied. Of the compounds tested, 4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (PTP), 4-phenylpyridine and 4-phenylpiperidine strongly and dose-dependently inhibited MAO-A and -B activity. Inhibition of PTP and 4-phenylpiperidine was MAO-A-selective, while that by 4-phenylpyridine was MAO-B-selective. Of these 3 compounds, only PTP time-dependently inhibited MAO-B, but not -A. Without preincubation, the modes of inhibition of MAO-A and -B by PTP were competitive. After 1 h preincubation, the mode of MAO-B inhibition changed to non-competitive, while inhibition of -A remained unchanged. PTP was oxidized by MAO-B, but not by -A, under these conditions. In contrast, 4-phenylpyridine and 4-phenylpiperidine were not substrates for either form of MAO in rat forebrain homogenates. These results, along with the other observations, indicate that PTP may essentially cause a neurotoxic effect on the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway.     

Participation of brain monoamine oxidase B form in the neurotoxicity of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine: relationship between the enzyme inhibition and the neurotoxicity

A neurotoxin for nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and its oxidized metabolite, 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP+), both dose-dependently inhibited rat striatal and forebrain monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity with monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) selectively reversible (competitive, Ki = 4.5 and 2.0 microM) inhibition. A comparison of the Ki values indicated the affinity of MPP+ for MAO-A to be greater than that of MPTP. MPTP inhibited monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) with both a reversible (competitive, Ki = 116 microM) and an irreversible time-dependent component, but inhibition by MPP+ was reversible and competitive (Ki = 180 microM). These results, together with previous findings on metabolism of MPTP to MPP+ by brain MAO-B, suggest that MPP+ is a simple inhibitor of MAO-A and MAO-B, but MPTP might be a 'suicide substrate' inhibitor for MAO-B.     

1-Methyl-4-cyclohexyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MCTP): an alicyclic MPTP-like neurotoxin

1-Methyl-4-cyclohexyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MCTP), an analog of MPTP, was found to be an MPTP-like neurotoxin. MCTP administration caused extensive losses of neostriatal dopamine and its major metabolites in male Swiss-Webster mice. Under similar experimental conditions, MCTP was approximately as potent as MPTP. Like MPTP, MCTP was a good substrate for monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) and its neurotoxicity was prevented in mice by AGN-1135, a selective inhibitor of MAO-B. The neurotoxicity of MCTP and of MPTP was also prevented by the dopamine uptake inhibitor mazindol. 1-Methyl-4-cyclohexylpyridinium ion (MCP+), the 4-electron oxidation product of MCTP, caused release of previously accumulated [3H]dopamine from mouse neostriatal synaptosomes. This release was blocked by mazindol, which indicates that MCP+, like 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+), the 4-electron oxidation product of MPTP, is a substrate for the dopamine transport system. Like MPP+, MCP+ was found to inhibit the mitochondrial oxidation of NADH-linked substrates. It appears that conjugation between the tetrahydropyridine ring and a 4-substituent is not a requirement for an MPTP analog to possess neurotoxicity.     

The ex vivo effect of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) on rat intra- and extraneuronal monoamine oxidase activity

After i.p. injection of 30 mg/kg 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) daily for 4 days and sacrificing the rats 4 h after the last injection, striatal monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A and -B activities, assayed by conventional method with 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and benzylamine, were not changed. By an uptake technique, with dopamine as the substrate for both uptake and MAO, intrasynaptosomal MAO-A and -B activities were found to be greatly reduced with a greater MAO-A reduction. Intrasynaptosomal 5-HT oxidation by MAO-A was not changed in other forebrain regions treated with these MPTP doses. Similar results were also found with two brain preparations treated with single MPTP doses (30 mg/kg). This reduction in intrasynaptosomal MAO activity was completely absent after treatment with lower MPTP doses (15 mg/kg, daily for 5 days) and 5 days of a withdrawal period. The decrease in MAO activity might have been due to the decrease in DA transport into striatal synaptosomes during the enzyme assay and/or to reversible inhibition of intrasynaptosomal MAO by MPP+.     

Analogues of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine as monoamine oxidase substrates: a second ring is not necessary

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is oxidised to a neurotoxic metabolite by monoamine oxidase B (MAO B). Using two colorimetric assays, we have examined a range of its structural analogues as possible further substrates of this enzyme in order to identify the types of environmental or endogenous compounds that might also be neurotoxic. Compounds with fully saturated or unsaturated pyridine rings were not substrates; nor were a range of tetrahydro-beta-carbolines or isoquinolines. Four substrates for MAO were found, 1-methyl-4-(2'-methylphenyl)-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (2'-Me-MPTP), 4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (PTP), 4-(p-chlorophenyl)-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (Cl-PTP) and ethyl-1-methyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-4-pyridine-carboxylate (ethyl-MTP-carboxylate). Ethyl-MTP-carboxylate is of particular interest as it shows that a tetrahydropyridine without a phenyl ring can also be a substrate. Cl-PTP, PTP and ethyl-MTP-carboxylate appeared to be partially metabolised by MAO A. The inhibitor sensitivity of 2'-Me-MPTP oxidation was more complex.     

Paraquat and two endogenous analogues of the neurotoxic substance N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine do not damage dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons in the mouse

C57 black mice were injected repeatedly with maximal tolerated doses of 4 different chemical analogues of N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), or its metabolite N-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+), in order to assess their possible neurotoxicity for dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons and their potential for causing idiopathic Parkinson's disease. The 4 analogues were the herbicide paraquat, reduced paraquat (having two N-methyl-tetrahydropyridine moieties), N-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline, and 2-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline, the latter two compounds being possible endogenous neurotoxins. Contents of striatal dopamine, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection one month after injections were completed, were not depleted by any of these 4 compounds in mice. They might conceivably prove more neurotoxic in primates.     

Conversion of the neurotoxic precursor 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridine into its pyridinium metabolite by human platelet monoamine oxidase type B

MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridine) causes selective and irreversible degeneration of the substantia nigra of human and non-human primates. In the central nervous system, the oxidative metabolism of MPTP to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-pyridinium (MPP+) by monoamine oxidase type B (MAO-B) seems to be a critical feature in the neurotoxic process. We now report that [3H]MPTP is rapidly converted in vitro into [3H]MPP+ by human platelet MAO-B. The formation of [3H]MPP+ in human platelets is prevented by specific MAO-B but not by MAO-A or by 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake inhibitors.     

Central hypothermic effects of some analogues of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+)

Effects of some MPTP or MPP+ analogues on mouse body temperature were studied. Of the analogues tested, 4-phenylpyridine (PPY) and 4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (PTP) given in single i.p. doses to mice caused marked hypothermia. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of PPY or PTP caused similar hypothermia. Pretreatment with clorgyline or (-)-deprenyl greatly prevented hypothermia induced by i.c.v. PPY, but hypothermia by i.c.v. PTP was prevented only by (-)-deprenyl. These results indicate that, in order to cause central hypothermia, PTP does not seem to require metabolism to PPY and both analogues per se may cause hypothermia.     

Partial protection from the dopaminergic neurotoxin N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine by four different antioxidants in the mouse

C57 black mice given a single injection of N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), 40 mg/kg, developed marked reduction of striatal dopamine content and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the zona compacta of the substantia nigra. However, pretreatment with any one of four different antioxidants, alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene, ascorbic acid or N-acetylcysteine, significantly decreased MPTP-induced striatal dopamine loss, and alpha-tocopherol prevented neuronal loss in the substantia nigra. Four chemical analogues of MPTP (cinnamaldehyde, N,N-dimethylcinnamylamine, arecoline and 2-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6,7-isoquinolinediol) were all found to lack dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurotoxicity in the mouse.     

Uptake of N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and the N-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+) into fetal mouse brain through the placenta

The neurotoxin N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) was found to be taken up into fetal mice through the placenta from a maternal mouse. C57 black mice were mated and MPTP (30 mg/kg) was given intramuscularly at the 18th day of gestation. Definite amounts of MPTP were detected in fetal brains by assay using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at 1 h after MPTP injection, and much higher contents of MPTP were found in maternal brains, too. An oxidative product of MPTP, the N-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+), was also detected in brains of both mother and fetus and its concentrations in their brains were followed at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 h after MPTP injection. The time to reach the maximal MPP+ concentration in brains was different between mother and fetus; 1 h and 3 h respectively. In addition to brain, considerable amounts of MPP+ were found in fetal liver, maternal liver and kidney, and in the placenta.     

Differential effects of acute and chronic nicotine treatment on MPTP-(1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) induced degeneration of nigrostriatal dopamine neurons in the black mouse

Summary Evidence exists for a negative correlation between Parkinson's disease and smoking. The present and previous studies indicate that nicotine treatment can markedly alter the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced neurotoxicity in the black mouse based on biochemical determinations of dopamine (DA), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) levels in neostriatum and substantia nigra 2 weeks after MPTP injection. Acute intermittent treatment with (–)nicotine starting 10 min before the MPTP injection partly protected against MPTP-induced neurotoxicity in the neostriatum and substantia nigra. Also, a partial protection was observed in the substantia nigra when (–)nicotine was given together with MPTP in an acute intermittent treatment schedule. Conversely, chronic infusion of (–)nicotine via minipumps produced a dose-related enhancement of MPTP-induced DA neurotoxicity in the neostriatum. It is suggested that the protective activity of nicotine in the MPTP model is related to a blockade of MPP + uptake into the DA cells via increased DA release. Conversely, the nicotine enhancement of MPTP-induced DA toxicity is suggested to be caused by a failure of the nicotinic cholinoceptors to desensitize to the chronic (–)nicotine exposure, leading to increased chronic influx of Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions via the ion channels of the nicotinic cholinoceptors located on the DA neurons with associated increased Ca ion toxicity and increased energy demands.Abbreviations DA dopamine - DOPAC 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid - HPLC high performance liquid chromatography - HVA homovanillic acid - MPP⁺a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-pyridinium ion - MPTP 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine     

Dopaminergic toxicity of rotenone and the 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion after their stereotaxic administration to rats: implication for the mechanism of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine toxicity

The 1-methyl-4-phenyl-pyridinium ion (MPP+) is the four electron oxidation product of the dopaminergic neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6 -tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). MPP+ can be formed by the oxidation of MPTP by monoamine oxidase B to the intermediate dihydropyridinium species, MPDP+, which is spontaneously transformed to MPP+. In the present study, MPP+, like the mitochondrial toxin rotenone, inhibited pyruvate-malate respiration in isolated mitochondrial preparations. Moreover, the stereotaxic administration of both MPP+ and rotenone caused damage to the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway. These data clearly demonstrate that a mitochondrial toxin, administered stereotaxically, is extremely neurotoxic. The data lend support to the concept that MPTP-induced neurotoxicity may be due to the detrimental actions of enzymatically formed MPP+ on mitochondrial function.     

Histochemistry of MPTP oxidation in the rat brain: sites of synthesis of the parkinsonism-inducing toxin MPP+

Systemic administration of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is toxic to the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and produces a syndrome similar to Parkinson's disease. Conversion of MPTP to 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP+) by monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) appears necessary for this neurotoxicity. When MPTP was used as the substrate for the histochemical localization of monoamine oxidase activity on sections of the rat brain, only a few specific sites were found in which MPTP oxidation to MPP+ occurs. These include the noradrenergic and serotoninergic neurons of the brainstem and the histamine neurons of the caudal hypothalamus. Dopamine neurons themselves do not display the capacity to oxidize MPTP. It is proposed that the conversion of MPTP to MPP+ occurs via MAO-B within serotonin and histamine neurons which may innervate the substantia nigra where the toxin MPP+ could be released and then taken up into the dopamine neurons.     

The toxic actions of MPTP and its metabolite MPP+ are not mimicked by analogues of MPTP lacking an N-methyl moiety

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), its metabolite 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP+) and three analogues of MPTP, lacking an N-methyl moiety, namely, 4-phenylpiperidine (I), 4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (II) and 4-phenylpyridine (III), were infused continuously for a period of 4 days into the rat substantia nigra. Within 12 h of commencing the bilateral infusion of MPTP or MPP+, rats showed marked motor deficits with reduction in locomotor activity, loss of ability to move the forelimbs and grip with forepaws and, following MPP+ infusions, similar loss of movement in the hindlimbs associated with the development of limb and body rigidity. These motor deficits were not induced by the 3 analogues of MPTP on infusion into the substantia nigra. After 4 days of infusion, the motor deficits caused by MPTP and, in particular, MPP+, were still marked, and for MPP+ these correlated with marked loss of striatal dopamine (DA), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid. 4-Phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine caused a small loss in striatal DA and DOPAC, but the other analogues failed to modify the striatal content of DA or its metabolites. Small alterations of chemical structures related to MPTP and its metabolite can critically alter ability to induce behavioural and neurochemical changes reflecting toxicity on the nigrostriatal DA system.     

Regional localization of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) uptake: mismatch between its uptake and neurotoxic sites.

Three to 24 h following intraventricular injections of radioactive 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) into the rat, accumulations of radiolabel were widely detected, in varying degree, over neuronal perikarya in motor-related structures below the midbrain. Pretreatment with the monoamine oxidase B inhibitor pargyline largely eliminated the perikaryal radiolabeling in the substantia nigra, dorsal raphe and cerebellum, leaving that in the other regions intact. These results indicate that there exists a certain mismatch between MPTP uptake and neurotoxic sites, and that invulnerable cells can accumulate MPTP without being converted to its major active metabolite 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP+).     

The effects of monoamine oxidase inhibition and dopamine uptake blockade on MPTP-induced increase of 2-[3H]deoxyglucose uptake in specific mesencephalic catecholaminergic nuclei

Intraperitoneal injection in C57 black mice of 30 or 7.5 mg/kg MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) followed 1-2 h later by 0.5 mCi/100 g 2-[3H]deoxyglucose (2-DG) produces an intense increase of 2-DG uptake in the dopaminergic zona compacta (ZC) of the substantia nigra and the adjacent ventral tegmental area (VTA) as seen in autoradiographs. Anesthetized animals also exhibit this reaction. Clorgyline (10 mg/kg), a monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A inhibitor, 30 min before MPTP does not block this reaction. Deprenyl (10 mg/kg), an MAO-B inhibitor, blocks increased 2-DG uptake in ZC and VTA if injected 30 min or 12 h before 7.5 mg/kg MPTP, but has no effect if injected 12 h before 30 mg/kg MPTP. Mazindol (10 mg/kg), a dopamine uptake blocker, is effective in blocking the action of 7.5 mg/kg MPTP, but ineffective against 30 mg/kg MPTP. Heavier doses of MPTP can, in some instances, overcome the actions of MAO inhibitors or dopamine uptake blockers in preventing the increased 2-DG uptake elicited by MPTP. But, essentially, the intensely increased glucose metabolism acutely induced in specific catecholaminergic neurons appears to be another significant pathological feature of the dopaminergic neurotoxicity caused by MPTP which can be prevented by MAO inhibition or dopamine uptake blockade.     

Resistance of the golden hamster to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-neurotoxicity is not only related with low levels of cerebral monoamine oxidase-B

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) has been proved to be a potent neurotoxin on dopaminergic neurons inducing most of the symptoms and cerebral lesions observed in the idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Although there is a substantial body of theory and researches about the effects of MPTP on susceptible mice and nonhuman primates, there are only few studies in resistant animals, such as golden hamsters (GH). The low levels of cerebral monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) enzyme have been proposed as the cause of the GH insensitivity to MPTP.The aim of this study was to elucidate whether MAO-B is the only factor which confer GH resistance to MPTP. Neither loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) nor cell death in the subventricular zone (SVZ) were found in female GH in response to an acute intraperitoneal (ip) MPTP treatment. To prove the role of MAO-B in the MPTP-resistance, female and male GH was intracerebroventricularly (icv) injected with either MPTP or 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinum (MPP⁺). Neither depletion in the number of dopaminergic neurons, nor astrogliosis, cell death in the SVZ of female and male GH were registered after an icv treatment with MPTP or MPP⁺. Furthermore, we demonstrated that MAO-B is located predominantly within the endothelial cells in the blood brain barrier (BBB), but not in the astroglia. The present results raise the possibility that, in GH, other mechanisms, apart from the low levels of regional MAO-B, confer resistance to MPTP and its metabolites.     

Manipulation of glutathione contents fails to alter dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurotoxicity of N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) in the mouse

Administration of glutathione monoethyl ester to mice increased hepatic glutathione (GSH) levels modestly, while administration of butylated hydroxyanisole increased hepatic glutathione content markedly. Yet neither substance protected mice from the toxic effects of N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) on dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons, as shown by marked depletion of striatal dopamine content when animals were sacrificed. Conversely, marked lowering of GSH levels in the livers of mice by administration of buthionine sulfoximine, or in both liver and brainstem following the injection of diethyl maleate, failed to accentuate the neurotoxicity of a low dose of MPTP. Thus, although MPTP produces a drop in brainstem GSH content, this GSH deficiency may not be casually related to the neurotoxic effects of MPTP.     

Inactivation of tyrosine hydroxylase in rat striatum by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+)

We report that 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+), the active metabolite of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), inactivated tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) when MPP+ was directly infused into the striatum. We examined both in vitro TH activity and TH content measured by an enzyme immunoassay in the rat striatum after MPP+ was administered by an in vivo brain microdialysis probe. MPP+ caused the inhibition of TH activity but did not influence TH content in the ipsilateral striatum. These results indicate that MPP+ may cause an acute inactivation of TH after continuous exposure at the high concentrations.     

Regional cerebral pharmacokinetics of the dopaminergic neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine as examined by positron emission tomography in a baboon is altered by tranylcypromine

The selective dopaminergic neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) has chemical and metabolic characteristics which allow its in vivo tissue distribution to be studied using positron emission tomography (PET). The cerebral pharmacokinetics of [¹¹C]MPTP labelled at the N-methyl position was quantitatively traced in the living brain of an anesthetized baboon using PET, and the effect of administration of the monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor tranylcypromine on this regional cerebral distribution was determined in the same animal. Following injection of [¹¹C]MPTP, radioactivity rapidly concentrated in the basal ganglia of the primate's brain. This in vivo localization was prevented by prior administration of tranylcypromine, suggesting that it is oxidized metabolites of MPTP which are sequestered by dopaminergic neurons. Radioactivity rapidly localized preferentially in the basal ganglia of the primate brain, and this in vivo localization was blocked by prior administration of the MAO inhibitor tranylcypromine.