Baicalin and deferoxamine alleviate iron accumulation in different brain regions of Parkinson's disease rats

Previous studies found that iron accumulates in the substantia nigra of Parkinson's disease patients. However, it is still unclear whether other brain regions have iron accumulation as well. In this experiment, rats with rotenone-induced Parkinson's disease were treated by gastric perfusion of baicalin or intraperitoneal injection of deferoxamine. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that iron accumulated not only in the substantia nigra pars compacta, but also significantly in the striatum globus pallidus, the dentate gyrus granular layer of the hippocampus, the dentate-interpositus and the facial nucleus of the cerebellum. Both baicalin and deferoxamine, which are iron chelating agents, significantly inhibited iron deposition in these brain areas, and substantially reduced the loss of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells. These chelators also reduced iron content in the substantia nigra. In addition to the substantia nigra, iron deposition was observed in other brain regions as well. Both baicalin and deferoxamine significantly inhibited iron accumulation in different brain regions, and had a protective effect on dopaminergic neurons.