Topic: corticostriatal pathway

Huntington's Disease (HD) is a monogenic and neurodegenerative disorder cause by an abnormal amount of CAG repeats in the exon 1 of the huntingtin gene, responsible for numerous transcriptional and cellular process dysfunctions, leading to neuronal death. HD mainly targets the medium spiny neurons of the striatum and more broadly the corticostriatal pathway, but other brain areas, such as the hippocampus, are also affected at more advanced stages of the disease. These deregulations are responsible for a triad of symtoms, consisting in cognitive and psychiatric symptoms that occur prior to the

The neurodegenerative process in Parkinson’s disease involves exacerbated inflammation with the participation of astrocytes. The P2Y1 receptor (P2Y1R) is a purinergic receptor predominantly expressed in astrocytes, regulating their activity, proliferation, and glutamate release. Therefore, our investigation explores whether the P2Y1R contributes to dopaminergic neuron degeneration, potentially via astrocytic involvement. To study dopaminergic degeneration, we injected 9 µg 6-hydroxydopamine into the right striatum (STR) of male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 6-8 weeks (ethical approval: 167/2019). D