TY - JOUR T1 - Neuroprotective effects of agmatine in mice infused with a single intranasal administration of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). AU - Matheus,Filipe C, AU - Aguiar,Aderbal S,Jr AU - Castro,Adalberto A, AU - Villarinho,Jardel G, AU - Ferreira,Juliano, AU - Figueiredo,Cláudia P, AU - Walz,Roger, AU - Santos,Adair R S, AU - Tasca,Carla I, AU - Prediger,Rui D S, Y1 - 2012/08/17/ PY - 2012/05/24/received PY - 2012/08/09/revised PY - 2012/08/12/accepted PY - 2012/8/28/entrez PY - 2012/8/28/pubmed PY - 2013/2/26/medline SP - 263 EP - 72 JF - Behavioural brain research JO - Behav Brain Res VL - 235 IS - 2 N2 - We have recently demonstrated that rodents treated intranasally with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) suffered impairments in olfactory, cognitive, emotional and motor functions associated with time-dependent disruption of dopaminergic neurotransmission in different brain structures conceivably analogous to those observed during different stages of Parkinson's disease (PD). Agmatine, an endogenous arginine metabolite, has been proposed as a novel neuromodulator that plays protective roles in several models of neuronal cellular damage. In the present study we demonstrated that repeated treatment with agmatine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) during 5 consecutive days increased the survival rate (from 40% to 80%) of 15-month-old C57BL/6 female mice infused with a single intranasal (i.n.) administration of MPTP (1 mg/nostril), improving the general neurological status of the surviving animals. Moreover, pretreatment with agmatine was found to attenuate short-term social memory and locomotor activity impairments observed at different periods after i.n. MPTP administration. These behavioral benefits of exogenous agmatine administration were accompanied by a protection against the MPTP-induced decrease of hippocampal glutamate uptake and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta of aging mice, without altering brain monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) activity. These results provide new insights in experimental models of PD, indicating that agmatine represents a potential therapeutic tool for the management of cognitive and motor symptoms of PD, together with its neuroprotective effects. SN - 1872-7549 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/22921927/Neuroprotective_effects_of_agmatine_in_mice_infused_with_a_single_intranasal_administration_of_1_methyl_4_phenyl_1236_tetrahydropyridine__MPTP__ L2 - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0166-4328(12)00535-9 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -