Inactivation of ERK1/2 Signaling in Dopaminergic Neurons by Map Kinase Phosphatase MKP3 Regulates Dopamine Signaling and Motivation for Cocaine
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: The mesolimbic dopamine system is a crucial component of reward and reinforcement processing, including the psychotropic effects of drugs of abuse such as cocaine. Drugs of abuse can activate intracellular signaling cascades that engender long-term molecular changes to brain reward circuitry, which can promote further drug use. However, gaps remain about how the activity of these signaling pathways, such as ERK1/2 signaling, can affect cocaine-induced neurochemical plasticity and cocaine-associated behaviors specifically within dopaminergic cells. To enable specific modulation of ERK1/2 signaling in dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area, we utilize a viral construct that Cre dependently expresses Map kinase phosphatase 3 (MKP3) to reduce the activity of ERK1/2, in combination with transgenic rats that express Cre in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive cells. Following viral transfection, we found an increase in the surface expression of the dopamine transporter (DAT), a protein associated with the regulation of dopamine signaling, dopamine transmission, and cocaine-associated behavior. We found that inactivation of ERK1/2 reduced post-translational phosphorylation of the DAT, attenuated the ability of cocaine to inhibit the DAT, and decreased motivation for cocaine without affecting associative learning as tested by conditioned place preference. Together, these results indicate that ERK1/2 signaling plays a critical role in shaping the dopamine response to cocaine and may provide additional insights into the function of dopaminergic neurons. Further, these findings lay important groundwork toward the assessment of how signaling pathways and their downstream effectors influence dopamine transmission and could ultimately provide therapeutic targets for treating cocaine use disorders.
Source: Journal of Neuroscience
Institution: Drexel University
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Awards: G3028337640, Computational and functional studies of allosteric monoamine transporter modulation, Allosteric modulation of dopamine transport-Functional and Biochemical Studies, G5163180321, G5189189777, G5866384110, Hypocretin/Orexin Regulation of Dopamine Signaling and Cocaine Reinforcement, Pre-existing individual differences in dopamine uptake dynamics govern the motivation for cocaine, Selective real-time activation of ERK1/2 signaling in dopamine neurons, G7509196163
OpenAlex ID: W4389429470