ABSTRACT
Objective To measure the level of microglia TRPC6 in mouse MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine)-induced neuroinflammation model and investigate its role in cytokine production and dopaminergic neuron damages. Methods Microglia were sorted by magnetic beads labeled with CD11b antibody and the level of TRPC6 in MPTP-induced neuroinflammation models was measured by western blotting. The proliferation of microglia and damages of dopaminergic neurons induced by MPTP were analyzed by immunofluorescence in CD11b-TRPC6 -/ - mice. Meanwhile, the expression of cryαB and cytokines in microglia was measured by western blotting and real-time quantitative PCR, respectively. Results The level of microglia TRPC6 in MPTP-induced neuroinflammation model was up-regulated. The expression of cryαB was increased and the cytokine level was down-regulated in the microglia in MPTP-injected CD11b-TRPC6 -/ - mice. Moreover, the dopaminergic neuron survival was improved in the MPTP-induced neuroinflammation model after TRPC6 knock-out in the microglia. Conclusions The expression of TRPC6 in microglia is up-regulated after MPTP injection, while in CD11b-TRPC6 -/ - mice the MPTP-induced cytokine expression is reduced, contributing to the improvement of dopaminergic neuron survival.