Role of Survivin during the process of neuronal apoptosis in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease

Abstract:

Objective：To investigate the effect of Survivin on neuronal apoptosis in the substantia nigra in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease（PD）. Methods：Healthy adult male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups：control（n=8）；PD（n=8）；PD + adenovirus empty vector（n=8）；and PD + Survivin（n=8）. Following 1 week of model induction，rats from the control and PD group received normal stimulation with no intervention，rats from the PD + adenovirus empty vector group received an empty adenovirus vec－tor injection in the substantia nigra，and rats from the PD + Survivin treatment group received an injection of Survivin adenovirus in the substantia nigra. Behavioral evaluation of spontaneous rotation was performed by injecting apomorphine（APO） every week follow－ing completion of the treatment. Following behavioral testing，brain tissue was collected. Neuronal apoptosis in the substantia nigra was determined by TUNEL staining. qRT-PCR and western blot were used to determine mRNA and protein levels of Caspase 3 and 9，respectively. Results：Compared to the PD + adenovirus empty vector group，the PD + Survivin treatment group exhibited significantly fewer spontaneous rotations following treatment（F=22.315，P=0.000，P=0.000）. Compared with the PD group and the PD + adenovirus empty vector group，neuronal apoptosis was signifi－cantly reduced in the PD + Survivin treatment group（F=38.912，P=0.000，P=0.000）. Compared with the control group，mRNA expression of Caspase-3 and 9（F=338.429，P=0.000，P=0.000；F=283.352，P=0.000，P=0.000） and protein expression of cleaved Caspase-3 and 9（F=640.262，P=0.000，P=0.000；F=354.210，P=0.000，P=0.000） were significantly decreased. Conclusion：Sur－vivin can inhibit apoptosis in the brain by inhibiting Caspase-3 and -9 at the mRNA and protein expression level in rat model of Parkinson’s disease，resulting in protection against neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra and reduced Parkinson’s disease-related symptoms.