Pathogenic mechanism underlying parkinsonism induced by neurotoxicants (MPTP and 6-hydroxydopamine) and α-synuclein: a unifying hypothesis.

The mechanism underlying the selective loss of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease (PD) is still not understood at present. MPTP, an illicit drug contaminant, can selectively induce parkinsonism in humans and animals which is very similar to idiopathic PD. Like MPTP, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is another neurotoxicant also capable of selectively inducing parkinsonism in animal models. In this paper, a unifying hypothesis is proposed, which offers a plausible explanation for the pathogenic mechanism of parkinsonism induced by MPTP and 6-OHDA. This hypothesis has three core elements. (i) The vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) is the transporter responsible for the reverse transport (efflux) of the misplaced cytosolic dopamine (DA). (ii) Activation of VMAT2-mediated DA reverse transport is caused by elevated oxidative stress, often resulting from the buildup of cytosolic DA in dopaminergic neurons. (iii) VMAT2 is a major target of MPP+ (a toxic metabolite of MPTP) and 6-OHDA, and inhibition of VMAT2-mediated DA reverse transport by MPP+ or 6-OHDA will result in the buildup of cytosolic DA, and its subsequent oxidation/auto-oxidation will further heighten oxidative stress and generate chemically-reactive, neurotoxic DA derivatives. These DA-associated oxidative changes jointly contribute to the selective injury to dopaminergic neurons and the induction of parkinsonism. This mechanistic hypothesis agrees with a large body of experimental observations, and also offers a mechanistic explanation for many experimental findings. Additionally, this hypothesis offers mechanistic insights into the pathogenic role of α-synuclein in human PD based on its strong ability to suppress VMAT2-mediated DA reverse transport in dopaminergic neurons.