Parkinson's disease (PD) is a
neurodegenerative disease, but the currently available treatments for this disease are symptomatic treatments. There is evidence that translocator
protein (18 kDa) (TSPO) expression is upregulated in some
neurodegenerative diseases, and TSPO
ligands have obvious
neuroprotective effects. However, the
neuroprotective effects and other potential effects of the TSPO
ligand etifoxine in PD remain unclear. Therefore, the present study was designed to explore the impacts of
etifoxine on a mouse model of PD induced by
1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (
MPTP). We found that
etifoxine significantly reduced motor function deficits, decreased the loss of
tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in the substantia nigra, and attenuated the decrease in striatal
dopamine levels in mice that received
MPTP.
Etifoxine diminished the production of inflammatory mediators and infiltration of leukocytes in the brain after
MPTP exposure. In vitro studies suggested that microglia contribute to
etifoxine's
neuroprotective effect. The results showed that
etifoxine can alleviate
MPTP-induced neurotoxicity and
neuroinflammation, providing a new idea for the treatment of PD.