Elevated tonic extracellular dopamine concentration and altered dopamine modulation of synaptic activity precede dopamine loss in the striatum of mice overexpressing human α-synuclein.

Overexpression or mutation of α-synuclein (α-Syn), a protein associated with presynaptic vesicles, causes familial forms of Parkinson's disease in humans and is also associated with sporadic forms of the disease. We used in vivo microdialysis, tissue content analysis, behavioral assessment, and whole-cell patch clamp recordings from striatal medium-sized spiny neurons (MSSNs) in slices to examine dopamine transmission and dopaminergic modulation of corticostriatal synaptic function in mice overexpressing human wild-type α-Syn under the Thy1 promoter (α-Syn mice). Tonic striatal extracellular dopamine and 3-methoxytyramine levels were elevated in α-Syn mice at 6 months of age, prior to any reduction in total striatal tissue content, and were accompanied by an increase in open-field activity. Dopamine clearance and amphetamine-induced dopamine efflux were unchanged. The frequency of MSSN spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) was lower in α-Syn mice. Amphetamine reduced sEPSC frequency in wild types (WTs) but produced no effect in α-Syn mice. Furthermore, whereas quinpirole reduced and sulpiride increased sEPSC frequency in WT mice, they produced the opposite effects in α-Syn mice. These observations indicate that overexpression of α-Syn alters dopamine efflux and D2 receptor modulation of corticostriatal glutamate release at a young age. At 14 months of age, the α-Syn mice presented with significantly lower striatal tissue dopamine and tyrosine hydroxylase content relative to WT littermates, accompanied by an L-DOPA-reversible sensory motor deficit. Together, these data further validate this transgenic mouse line as a slowly progressing model of Parkinson's disease and provide evidence for early dopamine synaptic dysfunction prior to loss of striatal dopamine.

A glial variant of the vesicular monoamine transporter is required to store histamine in the Drosophila visual system.

Unlike other monoamine neurotransmitters, the mechanism by which the brain's histamine content is regulated remains unclear. In mammals, vesicular monoamine transporters (VMATs) are expressed exclusively in neurons and mediate the storage of histamine and other monoamines. We have studied the visual system of Drosophila melanogaster in which histamine is the primary neurotransmitter released from photoreceptor cells. We report here that a novel mRNA splice variant of Drosophila VMAT (DVMAT-B) is expressed not in neurons but rather in a small subset of glia in the lamina of the fly's optic lobe. Histamine contents are reduced by mutation of dVMAT, but can be partially restored by specifically expressing DVMAT-B in glia. Our results suggest a novel role for a monoamine transporter in glia that may be relevant to histamine homeostasis in other systems.

Bacterial artificial chromosome transgenic mice expressing a truncated mutant parkin exhibit age-dependent hypokinetic motor deficits, dopaminergic neuron degeneration, and accumulation of proteinase K-resistant alpha-synuclein.

Recessive mutations in parkin are the most common cause of familial early-onset Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent studies suggest that certain parkin mutants may exert dominant toxic effects to cultured cells and such dominant toxicity can lead to progressive dopaminergic (DA) neuron degeneration in Drosophila. To explore whether mutant parkin could exert similar pathogenic effects to mammalian DA neurons in vivo, we developed a BAC (bacterial artificial chromosome) transgenic mouse model expressing a C-terminal truncated human mutant parkin (Parkin-Q311X) in DA neurons driven by a dopamine transporter promoter. Parkin-Q311X mice exhibit multiple late-onset and progressive hypokinetic motor deficits. Stereological analyses reveal that the mutant mice develop age-dependent DA neuron degeneration in substantia nigra accompanied by a significant loss of DA neuron terminals in the striatum. Neurochemical analyses reveal a significant reduction of the striatal dopamine level in mutant mice, which is significantly correlated with their hypokinetic motor deficits. Finally, mutant Parkin-Q311X mice, but not wild-type controls, exhibit age-dependent accumulation of proteinase K-resistant endogenous alpha-synuclein in substantia nigra and colocalized with 3-nitrotyrosine, a marker for oxidative protein damage. Hence, our study provides the first mammalian genetic evidence that dominant toxicity of a parkin mutant is sufficient to elicit age-dependent hypokinetic motor deficits and DA neuron loss in vivo, and uncovers a causal relationship between dominant parkin toxicity and progressive alpha-synuclein accumulation in DA neurons. Our study underscores the need to further explore the putative link between parkin dominant toxicity and PD.

Drosophila vesicular monoamine transporter mutants can adapt to reduced or eliminated vesicular stores of dopamine and serotonin.

Physiologic and pathogenic changes in amine release induce dramatic behavioral changes, but the underlying cellular mechanisms remain unclear. To investigate these adaptive processes, we have characterized mutations in the Drosophila vesicular monoamine transporter (dVMAT), which is required for the vesicular storage of dopamine, serotonin, and octopamine. dVMAT mutant larvae show reduced locomotion and decreased electrical activity in motoneurons innervating the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) implicating central amines in the regulation of these activities. A parallel increase in evoked glutamate release by the motoneuron is consistent with a homeostatic adaptation at the NMJ. Despite the importance of aminergic signaling for regulating locomotion and other behaviors, adult dVMAT homozygous null mutants survive under conditions of low population density, thus allowing a phenotypic characterization of adult behavior. Homozygous mutant females are sterile and show defects in both egg retention and development; males also show reduced fertility. Homozygotes show an increased attraction to light but are mildly impaired in geotaxis and escape behaviors. In contrast, heterozygous mutants show an exaggerated escape response. Both hetero- and homozygous mutants demonstrate an altered behavioral response to cocaine. dVMAT mutants define potentially adaptive responses to reduced or eliminated aminergic signaling and will be useful to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Mutation of the Drosophila vesicular GABA transporter disrupts visual figure detection.

The role of gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) release and inhibitory neurotransmission in regulating most behaviors remains unclear. The vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT) is required for the storage of GABA in synaptic vesicles and provides a potentially useful probe for inhibitory circuits. However, specific pharmacologic agents for VGAT are not available, and VGAT knockout mice are embryonically lethal, thus precluding behavioral studies. We have identified the Drosophila ortholog of the vesicular GABA transporter gene (which we refer to as dVGAT), immunocytologically mapped dVGAT protein expression in the larva and adult and characterized a dVGAT(minos) mutant allele. dVGAT is embryonically lethal and we do not detect residual dVGAT expression, suggesting that it is either a strong hypomorph or a null. To investigate the function of VGAT and GABA signaling in adult visual flight behavior, we have selectively rescued the dVGAT mutant during development. We show that reduced GABA release does not compromise the active optomotor control of wide-field pattern motion. Conversely, reduced dVGAT expression disrupts normal object tracking and figure-ground discrimination. These results demonstrate that visual behaviors are segregated by the level of GABA signaling in flies, and more generally establish dVGAT as a model to study the contribution of GABA release to other complex behaviors.

A Drosophila model of mutant human parkin-induced toxicity demonstrates selective loss of dopaminergic neurons and dependence on cellular dopamine.

Mutations in human parkin have been identified in familial Parkinson's disease and in some sporadic cases. Here, we report that expression of mutant but not wild-type human parkin in Drosophila causes age-dependent, selective degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons accompanied by a progressive motor impairment. Overexpression or knockdown of the Drosophila vesicular monoamine transporter, which regulates cytosolic DA homeostasis, partially rescues or exacerbates, respectively, the degenerative phenotypes caused by mutant human parkin. These results support a model in which the vulnerability of DA neurons to parkin-induced neurotoxicity results from the interaction of mutant parkin with cytoplasmic dopamine.

Effects of decreased dopamine transporter levels on nigrostriatal neurons and paraquat/maneb toxicity in mice.

How genetic variations in the dopamine transporter (DAT) combined with exposure to environmental toxins modulate the risk of Parkinson's disease remains unclear. Using unbiased stereology in DAT knock-down mice (DAT-KD) and wild-type (WT) littermates, we found that decreased DAT caused a loss of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive (dopaminergic) neurons in subregions of the substantia nigra pars compacta at 3-4 days, 5 weeks, and 18 months of age. Both genotypes lost dopaminergic neurons with age and remaining neurons at 11 months were resilient to paraquat/maneb. In 5-week-old mice, the toxins decreased substantia nigra pars compacta dopaminergic neurons in both genotypes but less in DAT-KD. Regional analysis revealed striking differences in the subsets of neurons affected by low DAT, paraquat/maneb, and aging. In particular, we show that a potentially protective effect of low DAT against toxin exposure is not sufficient to reduce death of all nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. Thus, different regional vulnerability of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons may contribute to an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease when multiple factors are combined.

Extracellular adenosine in the human brain during sleep and sleep deprivation: an in vivo microdialysis study.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To examine the pattern of extracellular adenosine in the human brain during sleep deprivation, sleep, and normal wake. DESIGN: Following recovery from implantation of clinical depth electrodes, epilepsy patients remained awake for 40 continuous hours, followed by a recovery sleep episode. SETTING: Neurology ward at UCLA Medical Center. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS: Seven male epilepsy patients undergoing depth electrode localization of pharmacologically refractory seizures. INTERVENTIONS: All subjects were implanted with depth electrodes, a subset of which were customized to contain microdialysis probes. Microdialysis samples were collected during normal sleep, sleep deprivation, and recovery sleep from human amygdalae (n = 8), hippocampus (n = 1), and cortex (n = 1). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: In none of the probes did we observe an increase in extracellular adenosine during the sleep deprivation. There was a significant, though very small, diurnal oscillation (2.5%) in 5 of the 8 amygdalae. There was no effect of epileptogenicity on the pattern of extracellular adenosine. CONCLUSIONS: Our observations, along with those in animal studies, indicate that the role of extracellular adenosine in regulating sleep pressure is not a global brain phenomenon but is likely limited to specific basal forebrain areas. Thus, if energy homeostasis is a function of sleep, an increased rate of adenosine release into the extracellular milieu of the amygdala, cortex, or hippocampus is unlikely to be a marker of such a process.

Dispensable, redundant, complementary, and cooperative roles of dopamine, octopamine, and serotonin in Drosophila melanogaster.

To investigate the regulation of Drosophila melanogaster behavior by biogenic amines, we have exploited the broad requirement of the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT) for the vesicular storage and exocytotic release of all monoamine neurotransmitters. We used the Drosophila VMAT (dVMAT) null mutant to globally ablate exocytotic amine release and then restored DVMAT activity in either individual or multiple aminergic systems, using transgenic rescue techniques. We find that larval survival, larval locomotion, and female fertility rely predominantly on octopaminergic circuits with little apparent input from the vesicular release of serotonin or dopamine. In contrast, male courtship and fertility can be rescued by expressing DVMAT in octopaminergic or dopaminergic neurons, suggesting potentially redundant circuits. Rescue of major aspects of adult locomotion and startle behavior required octopamine, but a complementary role was observed for serotonin. Interestingly, adult circadian behavior could not be rescued by expression of DVMAT in a single subtype of aminergic neurons, but required at least two systems, suggesting the possibility of unexpected cooperative interactions. Further experiments using this model will help determine how multiple aminergic systems may contribute to the regulation of other behaviors. Our data also highlight potential differences between behaviors regulated by standard exocytotic release and those regulated by other mechanisms.

Activation of nigral and pallidal dopamine D1-like receptors modulates basal ganglia outflow in monkeys.

Studies of the effects of dopamine in the basal ganglia have focused on the striatum, whereas the functions of dopamine released in the internal pallidal segment (GPi) or in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) have received less attention. Anatomic and biochemical investigations have demonstrated the presence of dopamine D1-like receptors (D1LRs) in GPi and SNr, which are primarily located on axons and axon terminals of the GABAergic striatopallidal and striatonigral afferents. Our experiments assessed the effects of D1LR ligands in GPi and SNr on local gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels and neuronal activity in these nuclei in rhesus monkeys. Microinjections of the D1LR receptor agonist SKF82958 into GPi and SNr significantly reduced discharge rates in GPi and SNr, whereas injections of the D1LR antagonist SCH23390 increased firing in the majority of GPi neurons. D1LR activation also increased bursting and oscillations in neuronal discharge in the 3- to 15-Hz band in both structures, whereas D1LR blockade had the opposite effects in GPi. Microdialysis measurements of GABA concentrations in GPi and SNr showed that the D1LR agonist increased the level of the transmitter. Both findings are compatible with the hypothesis that D1LR activation leads to GABA release from striatopallidal or striatonigral afferents, which may secondarily reduce firing of basal ganglia output neurons. The antagonist experiments suggest that a dopaminergic "tone" exists in GPi. Our results support the finding that D1LR activation may have powerful effects on GPi and SNr neurons and may mediate some of the effects of dopamine replacement therapies in Parkinson's disease.

Blockade of mGluR glutamate receptors in the subthalamic nucleus ameliorates motor asymmetry in an animal model of Parkinson's disease.

It has been suggested that Group I metabotropic glutamate receptor antagonists could have potential therapeutic value in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. There is evidence that when given systemically, 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP), a metabotropic glutamate receptor type 5 (mGluR5) antagonist, produces anti-parkinsonian effects in animal models, but the site of action has not been directly established. In the present study, we examined whether the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and its output structures may mediate such an effect using a unilateral rat model of Parkinson's disease. A battery of simple behavioral tests, reliably sensitive to dopamine depletion, was applied consecutively: (i) prior to surgery; (ii) 3 weeks following a unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of the substantia nigra pars compacta; (iii) at 1 h, 24 h and 4 days following a microinjection of MPEP, via an indwelling cannula, into the STN, entopeduncular nucleus (EP) or substantia nigra zona reticulata. Unilaterally dopamine-depleted animals typically had severe motor and sensorimotor asymmetries 3 weeks following surgery. Microinjection of 25 nmol MPEP into the STN of these animals significantly attenuated these asymmetries relative to vehicle. Further microinjections of lower doses (5 and 10 nmol) revealed a dose-response effect. Microinjection of MPEP into either the EP or substantia nigra zona reticulata was without effect. These data suggest that MPEP may act at the level of the STN to reduce glutamatergic overactivity and thereby induce anti-parkinsonian effects.

GABAergic modulation of the activity of globus pallidus neurons in primates: in vivo analysis of the functions of GABA receptors and GABA transporters.

Neurons in the external and internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPe and GPi, respectively) receive substantial GABAergic inputs from the striatum and through axon collaterals of neighboring pallidal neurons. The effects of GABA on pallidal activity depend on the synaptic localization of GABA receptors and the distribution and activity of GABA transporters (GATs). To explore the contribution of GABA receptors and transporters to pallidal function, we recorded the activity of single neurons in GPe or GPi before, during, and after local microinjections of GABAergic compounds in awake rhesus monkeys. Activation of GABA(A) or GABA(B) receptors with muscimol or baclofen, respectively, inhibited pallidal activity. These effects were reversed by concomitant infusion of the respective GABA receptor antagonists, gabazine and CGP-55845. Given alone, the antagonists were without consistent effect. Application of the selective GAT-1 inhibitor, SKF-89976A, and the semiselective GAT-3 blocker, SNAP-5114, decreased pallidal activity. Both GAT inhibitors increased GABA levels in the pallidum, as measured by microdialysis. Electron microscopic observations revealed that these transporters are located on glial processes and unmyelinated axonal segments, but rarely on terminals. Our results indicate that activation of GABA(A) and GABA(B) receptors inhibits neuronal activity in both segments of the pallidum. GAT-1 and GAT-3 are involved in the modulation of endogenous GABA levels and may be important in regulating the extrasynaptic levels of GABA. Together with previous evidence that a considerable proportion of pallidal GABA receptors are located outside the synaptic cleft, our experiments strongly support the importance of extrasynaptic GABAergic transmission in the primate pallidum.

Parkin-deficient mice exhibit nigrostriatal deficits but not loss of dopaminergic neurons.

Loss-of-function mutations in parkin are the major cause of early-onset familial Parkinson's disease. To investigate the pathogenic mechanism by which loss of parkin function causes Parkinson's disease, we generated a mouse model bearing a germline disruption in parkin. Parkin-/- mice are viable and exhibit grossly normal brain morphology. Quantitative in vivo microdialysis revealed an increase in extracellular dopamine concentration in the striatum of parkin-/- mice. Intracellular recordings of medium-sized striatal spiny neurons showed that greater currents are required to induce synaptic responses, suggesting a reduction in synaptic excitability in the absence of parkin. Furthermore, parkin-/- mice exhibit deficits in behavioral paradigms sensitive to dysfunction of the nigrostriatal pathway. The number of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of parkin-/- mice, however, is normal up to the age of 24 months, in contrast to the substantial loss of nigral neurons characteristic of Parkinson's disease. Steady-state levels of CDCrel-1, synphilin-1, and alpha-synuclein, which were identified previously as substrates of the E3 ubiquitin ligase activity of parkin, are unaltered in parkin-/- brains. Together these findings provide the first evidence for a novel role of parkin in dopamine regulation and nigrostriatal function, and a non-essential role of parkin in the survival of nigral neurons in mice.