A distinct subpopulation of striatal aspiny neurons, containing the enzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase, is preserved in the caudate nucleus in Huntington's disease. Biochemical assays confirmed a significant increase in the activity of this enzyme in both the caudate nucleus and putamen in postmortem brain tissue from patients with this disease. The resistance of these neurons suggests that the gene defect in Huntington's disease may be modifiable by the local biochemical environment. This finding may provide insight into the nature of the genetically programmed cell death that is a characteristic of the disease.

We have previously found that a biochemically distinct subset of neurons, containing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPH-d), is selectively resistant to the degenerative process that affects the striatum in Huntington's disease (HD). We report the morphologic and histochemical characteristics of these striatal neurons and their distribution with respect to the histochemical compartments as defined by acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. Sections of striatum were stained histochemically for NADPH-d and AChE and immunocytochemically for somatostatin and neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity. The diaphorase end-product was contained within medium-sized neurons which corresponded morphologically to a category of aspiny interneurons. Combined techniques showed that NADPH-d, somatostatin, and neuropeptide Y coexisted within the same neurons in controls and patients with HD. The density of these neurons was greater in the ventral putamen and the nucleus accumbens than in the remainder of the striatum. The distinctive AChE pattern of high and low enzyme activity was altered in HD. The AChE-rich matrix zone was markedly reduced in size, while the total area of zones of low enzyme activity was not different from that found in control striatum. The relation between these AChE chemical compartments and the distribution of preserved diaphorase neurons remained intact; NADPH-d neurons were predominantly observed in the matrix zone.

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