Recent research developments of endogenous neurotoxin salsolinol in the pathogenesis of parkinson's disease / 中国药学杂志

ABSTRACT

Endogenous neurotoxin 1-methyl-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4 -tetrahydroisoquinoline (salsolinol, Sals), an endogenous dopamine metabolite, were shown to be toxic to dopaminergic neurons in vitro as well as in vivo, and was known to be involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Sals is a more realistic model for selective toxicity to nigral dopaminergic neurons, and mimic the natural course of PD that develops slowly, allowing the brain to adapt to progressive damage. Sals lead to neurotoxicity in dopaminergic cells through induction of oxidative stress and apoptotic dopaminergic cell death, which made it as an important tool drugs to study the pathogenesis of PD.