Sayre L M, Arora P K, Iacofano L A, Harik S I
Eur J Pharmacol. 1986 May 13;124(1-2):171-4. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(86)90139-1.
The depletion of dopamine and its metabolites in the striatum of rats was assessed 3 weeks after the unilateral intranigral infusion of different doses of MPTP, its ultimate metabolite MPP+, and 3,3-DM-MPDP+, a non-oxidizable analog of the initial MPTP metabolite 2,3-MPDP+. MPP+ was found to be 2-3 orders of magnitude more toxic than the other two agents, consistent with the view that it is primarily responsible for MPTP neurotoxicity.
