Selective metabolic activation by apomorphine in striosomes of denervated striatum in MPTP-induced hemiparkinsonian monkeys.

Results of previous studies have suggested differences in the regulatory mechanisms in striatal striosomes and matrix following interruption of dopaminergic input to the striatum by MPTP in the monkey. In the present study we have investigated the possibility that stimulation of dopamine receptors by apomorphine modifies glucose metabolism differentially in the two striatal compartments of unilaterally MPTP-lesioned monkeys. Apomorphine treatment was found to result in higher rates of glucose utilization in the denervated striatum than in the intact hemisphere. Furthermore, the effect was more robust in the striosomes than in the matrix, thus providing evidence for differential functional and/or metabolic regulation in striatal striosomes and matrix in parkinsonian syndromes.