Immunohistochemical Assessment of the Compensatory Responses in Rat Olfactory Bulbs after 6-Hydroxydopamine-Induced Lesion of the Substantia Nigra.

We assessed changes of olfactory bulbs in rata with 6-hydroxydopamine destruction of the substantia nigra. The expression of marker proteins of immature and differentiated neurons and glia (vimentin, PSA-NCAM, tyrosine hydroxylase, and S100) was analyzed by immunohistochemical and morphometric methods. The number of periglomerular dopamine neurons and astroglia in the olfactory bulbs increased on the side of toxin injection and expression of PSA-NCAM and vimentin increased in the rostral migratory stream. Destruction of the substantia nigra shifted differentiation of neuronal progenitors towards the dopaminergic phenotype and increased their survival in the olfactory bulbs, which can be explained by increased expression of PSA-NCAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]