Allosteric Modulation of β1 Integrin Attenuates Motor Asymmetry in the Unilateral 6-Hydroxydopamine Injury Model in Mice

Abstract Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterised by progressive dopaminergic neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra, leading to debilitating motor dysfunction. Current treatments remain largely symptomatic, highlighting the need for disease-modifying therapies. β1 integrin, implicated in neuroinflammation and trophic signalling, represents a candidate therapeutic target. We investigated whether allosteric β1 integrin modulation could attenuate motor asymmetry in the unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) mouse model of PD. Adult male C57BL/6 mice received intracerebral 6-OHDA into the substantia nigra. The anti-β1 integrin antibody JB1a (50 µg) was administered prophylactically (3 days pre-lesion) or therapeutically (3 or 7 days post-lesion). Motor asymmetry was assessed through spontaneous circling (5 min) and apomorphine-induced (0.5 mg/kg s.c.) circling (30 min). 6-OHDA induced dose-dependent contralateral circling, confirming nigrostriatal lesion. Pre-treatment with JB1a (3 days before 6-OHDA) reduced apomorphine-induced circling, although this did not reach statistical significance (28.5 ± 12.8, n = 4 versus 38.6 ± 7.5, n = 8; p >0.05). Post-treatment at 3 days post-lesion produced no statistically significant change in either spontaneous or apomorphine-induced circling ( p >0.05). Post-treatment at 7 days post-lesion reduced apomorphine-induced circling by approximately 50%, with values returning to those of sham-operated controls (n =8-9; p <0.01). These findings, obtained in a murine 6-OHDA model, indicate that allosteric β1 integrin modulation attenuates lesion-induced motor asymmetry with apparent temporal specificity. As apomorphine-induced rotation reflects post-synaptic dopamine receptor supersensitivity rather than direct neuronal preservation, and as histological confirmation of dopaminergic integrity was not obtainable in this study, the present data should be interpreted as proof-of-concept behavioural evidence requiring further mechanistic and translational validation in models incorporating α-synuclein pathology. The findings are not directly generalizable to human Parkinson’s disease. The histological confirmation of lesion extent was not available and as such the behavioural findings are correspondingly interpreted as a proof-of-concept observation requiring histological replication.