| First Author | González Deniselle MC | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Brain Res | Volume | 1014 |
| Issue | 1-2 | Pages | 71-9 |
| PubMed ID | 15212993 | Mgi Jnum | J:90944 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3045550 | Doi | 10.1016/j.brainres.2004.04.004 |
| Citation | Gonzalez Deniselle MC, et al. (2004) Progesterone treatment reduces NADPH-diaphorase/nitric oxide synthase in Wobbler mouse motoneuron disease. Brain Res 1014(1-2):71-9 |
| abstractText | Previous work demonstrated that progesterone (PROG) treatment attenuates morphological, molecular and functional abnormalities in the spinal cord of the Wobbler (Wr) mouse, a genetic model of motoneuron degeneration. Wr mice show a marked up-regulation of the nitric oxide synthesizing enzyme (NOS). Since nitric oxide is a highly reactive species, it may play a role in neuropathology of Wr mice. We now studied if PROG neuroprotection involved changes of NOS activity in motoneurons and astrocytes, determined by the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPHD) histochemical reaction. Two and four-month-old Wr mice at the progressive and stabilization stages of the disease, respectively, and their age-matched controls were left untreated or received a single 20-mg PROG pellet for 18 days. PROG reduced the high number of NADPHD-active motoneurons and white matter astrocytes in 2-month-old Wr mice but was unable to change the low number of NADPHD-active motoneurons in 4-month-old Wr mice or astrocytes in this age group. A large number of motoneurons in 2-month-old Wr mice showed a vacuolated phenotype, which was significantly reverted by PROG treatment. In summary, PROG treatment during the early symptomatic stage of the disease caused a significant reduction of NADPHD-active motoneurons and astrocytes and also reduced vacuolated degenerating cells, suggesting that blockade of NO synthesis and oxidative damage may contribute to steroid neuroprotection. |
