Methamphetamine decreases mouse striatal dopamine transporter activity: roles of hyperthermia and dopamine.

Multiple methamphetamine administrations rapidly decrease rat striatal dopamine transporter activity. To determine the species specificity of this phenomenon, the present studies examined effects of this stimulant on the dopamine transporter in mice. As in rats, multiple methamphetamine injections rapidly reduced striatal dopamine transporter activity; a decrease that was partially reversed 24 h later. Moreover, methamphetamine decreased binding of the dopamine transporter ligand, WIN35428, but to a lesser degree than the change in dopamine transporter function. These decreases did not appear to result from residual methamphetamine introduced by the original drug treatment. As in rats, hyperthermia contributed to this phenomenon. Unlike in rats, a role for dopamine was not observed in mice as dopamine depletion, resulting from alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine pretreatment, did not prevent this decrease. In addition, unlike in rats, pretreatment with either a dopamine D1 or D2 receptor antagonist (SCH23390 or eticlopride, respectively) did not attenuate the methamphetamine-induced reduction in dopamine uptake. These findings demonstrate both similarities and differences in the acute effects of methamphetamine on dopamine transporter function in mice and rats, and suggest the mouse as an additional model for assessing the acute effects of methamphetamine on the dopamine transporter.