[ 3 H]CNQX and NMDA-Sensitive [ 3 H]Glutamate Binding Sites and AMPA Receptor Subunit RNA Transcripts in the Striatum of Normal and Weaver Mutant Mice and Effects of Ventral Mesencephalic Grafts

Levels of excitatory amino acid receptors were studied in the weaver mouse model of DA deficiency after unilateral intrastriatal transplantation of E12 +/+ mesencephalic cell suspensions. Graft integration was verified by turning behavior tests and from the topographical levels of the DA transporter, tagged autoradiographically with 3 nM [³H]GBR 12935 (average increase in grafted dorsal striatum compared to nongrafted side, 60%). Autoradiography of 80 nM [³H]CNQX and 100 nM NMDA-sensitive [³H]glutamate binding was carried out to visualize the topography of non-NMDA and NMDA receptors, respectively, in +/+ mice and in recipient weaver mutants 3 months after grafting. Increases of 30% or more were found for [³H]CNQX binding in the dorsal nongrafted weaver striatum compared to +/+, and a further 6–9% increase in grafted weaver compared to nongrafted side. The added increase of non-NMDA receptors in the transplanted striatum might be explained by a presence of such receptors on DA presynaptic endings of graft origin. A 20% increase in NMDA-sensitive [³H]glutamate binding was measured in the dorsal nongrafted weaver striatum compared to +/+. NMDA-sensitive [³H]glutamate binding in the transplanted side of weaver mutants tended to be slightly higher in all areas of the striatal complex compared to the nongrafted side, without reaching conventional levels of statistical significance. Using in situ hybridization histochemistry with synthetic ³²P-labeled oligonucleotide probes, we investigated RNA transcripts encoding the four AMPA receptor subunits. RNA transcripts in the striatum are seen with a decreasing signal intensity in the following order: GluRB > GluRA > GluRC > GluRD. The weaver caudate-putamen shows a 12% increase in GluRA subunit mRNA compared to +/+, whereas mesencephalic neuron transplantation leads to slight increases (3%) in the levels of GluRB mRNA in the nucleus accumbens. The results are placed in the context of the important interaction between the converging glutamatergic corticostriatal and the DAergic nigrostriatal pathways in controlling the functional output of the basal ganglia in Parkinson's disease and in experimental models of DA deficiency.