Science · 1994 · 332 citations · 54 references
Life SciencesNeurobiologyNeuroscienceCellular NeuroscienceMolecular NeurobiologyMolecular NeuroscienceDopaminergic SignalingNeurodegenerative DiseasesNeurodegenerative DisordersNeurotransmitter MetabolismParkinson DiseaseParkinsonian DisordersDopamine BiosynthesisDopaminergic NeuronsIntracellular Gene TransferParkinson Disease Gene TherapyParkinson’s Disease TreatmentStriatal Dopamine FunctionStriatal FunctionStriatal Physiology
One therapeutic approach to treating Parkinson's disease is to convert endogenous striatal cells into levo-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa)-producing cells. A defective herpes simplex virus type 1 vector expressing human tyrosine hydroxylase was delivered into the partially denervated striatum of 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats, used as a model of Parkinson's disease. Efficient behavioral and biochemical recovery was maintained for 1 year after gene transfer. Biochemical recovery included increases in both striatal tyrosine hydroxylase enzyme activity and in extracellular dopamine concentrations. Persistence of human tyrosine hydroxylase was revealed by expression of RNA and immunoreactivity.
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Grafts of Fetal Dopamine Neurons Survive and Improve Motor Function in Parkinson's Disease
Olle Lindvall, Patrik Brundin, Håkan Widner et al. · Science · 1990 · 1.2K citations
RNA Complementary to a Herpesvirus α Gene mRNA Is Prominent in Latently Infected Neurons
J G Stevens, E K Wagner, G B Devi-Rao et al. · Science · 1987 · 904 citations