Reduction of muscarinic cholinergic receptors in mouse striatum by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine and its recovery by levodopa treatment.

The effect of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) administration on muscarinic chelinergic receptors (mACh-R) in the mouse striatum and their modulation with levopoda treatment were studied. Striatal mACh-R binding decreased significantly 6 weeks after MPTP treatment, but recovered to control levels 2 weeks after treatment with levodopa. The changes in the mACh-R were caused by changes in receptor binding capacity but not associated with receptor binding affinity. These results suggests that striatal mACh-R is dependent on dopaminergic activity in the striatum.