Establishment of a 6-OHDA Induced Unilaterally Lesioned Male Wistar Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Robust preclinical models of Parkinson’s disease (PD) are valuable tools for understanding the biology and treatment of this complex disease. 6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is a selective catecholaminergic drug injected into the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), medial forebrain bundle (MFB), or striatum, which is then metabolized to induce parkinsonism. Unilateral injection of 6-OHDA produces loss of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons on the injected side with a marked motor asymmetry known as hemiparkinsonism, typically characterized by a rotational behavior to the impaired side. The present work describes a stable unilateral 6-OHDA-lesioned rat model of PD. 6-OHDA was administered into the MFB, leading to the consistent loss of striatal dopamine (DA) and behavioral imbalance in unilateral 6-OHDA-lesioned rats to establish the model of PD. This model of PD is a valuable tool for understanding the mechanisms underlying the generation of parkinsonian symptoms.