Sparing of striatal neurons coexpressing calretinin and substance P (NK1) receptor in Huntington's disease

• Published in: Brain research 1996-08, Vol.730 (1), p.232-237
• Main Authors: Cicchetti, Francesca, Gould, Peter V., Parent, André
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Basal ganglia; Biological and medical sciences; Calbindin 2; Calcium-binding protein; Corpus Striatum - metabolism; Corpus Striatum - pathology; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Female; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein - metabolism; Humans; Huntington Disease - metabolism; Huntington Disease - pathology; Huntington's chorea; Immunohistochemistry; Interneurons - metabolism; Interneurons - pathology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neurodegenerative disorder; Neurokinin receptor; Neurology; Receptors, Neurokinin-1 - metabolism; S100 Calcium Binding Protein G - metabolism; Striatum
• ISSN: 0006-8993; 1872-6240
• DOI: 10.1016/0006-8993(96)00307-1

Immunohistochemical studies of the striatum in normal human subjects with a double-antigen localization method have revealed the presence of large and medium-sized aspiny neurons displaying immunoreactivity for both the calcium-binding protein calretinin and substance P (neurokinin-1) receptor. These large and medium-sized cells form two distinct classes of striatal interneurons, which together represent less than 3% of the total neuronal population of the human striatum. Observations made in four cases of Huntington's disease revealed that such doubly labeled interneurons are still present in the striatum of these patients, despite the marked atrophy of the structure. This study provides the first evidence for the existence of interneurons containing calretinin and expressing tachykinin receptors in the human striatum. It also demonstrates the selective sparing of these chemospecific striatal neurons in Huntington's disease.