Evidence for a role of the 5-HT1B receptor and its adaptor protein, p11, in L-DOPA treatment of an animal model of Parkinsonism.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a progressive degeneration of substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons projecting to the striatum. Restoration of dopamine transmission by L-DOPA relieves symptoms of PD but causes prominent side effects. There is a strong serotonin innervation of the striatum by serotonergic neurons that remains relatively preserved in PD. The study of this innervation has been largely neglected. Here, we demonstrate that chronic L-DOPA administration to 6-OHDA-lesioned rodents increases, via D1 receptors, the levels of the 5-HT1B receptor and its adaptor protein, p11, in dopamine-denervated striatonigral neurons. Using unilaterally 6-OHDA-lesioned p11 WT and KO mice, it was found that administration of a selective 5-HT1B receptor agonist, CP94253, inhibited L-DOPA-induced rotational behavior and abnormal involuntary movements in a p11-dependent manner. These data reveal an L-DOPA-induced negative-feedback mechanism, whereby the serotonin system may influence the symptomatology of Parkinsonism.