Rotenone potentiates dopamine neuron loss in animals exposed to lipopolysaccharide prenatally

We previously demonstrated that treating gravid female rats with the bacteriotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) led to the birth of offspring with fewer than normal dopamine (DA) neurons. This DA neuron loss was long-lived and associated with permanent increases in the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα). Because of this pro-inflammatory state, we hypothesized that these animals would be more susceptible to subsequent exposure of DA neurotoxins. We tested this hypothesis by treating female Sprague–Dawley rats exposed to LPS or saline prenatally with a subtoxic dose of the DA neurotoxin rotenone (1.25 mg/kg per day) or vehicle for 14 days when they were 16 months old. After another 14 days, the animals were sacrificed. Tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (THir) cell counts were used as an index of DA neuron survival. Animals exposed to LPS prenatally or rotenone postnatally exhibited a 22% and 3%, respectively, decrease in THir cell counts relative to controls. The combined effects of prenatal LPS and postnatal rotenone exposure produced a synergistic 39% THir cell loss relative to controls. This loss was associated with decreased striatal DA and increased striatal DA activity ([HVA]/[DA]) and TNFα. Animals exposed to LPS prenatally exhibited a marked increase in the number of reactive microglia that was further increased by rotenone exposure. Prenatal LPS exposure also led to increased levels of oxidized proteins and the formation of α-Synuclein and eosin positive inclusions resembling Lewy bodies. These results suggest that exposure to low doses of an environmental neurotoxin like rotenone can produce synergistic DA neuron losses in animals with a preexisting pro-inflammatory state. This supports the notion that Parkinson's disease (PD) may be caused by multiple factors and the result of “multiple hits” from environmental toxins.