title: Effects of methamphetamine on the cerebellar cortex: a preliminary study.
abstract: Methamphetamine (METH) targets monoamine nerve terminals and produces motor effects, which are related to changes in catecholamine activity within the basal ganglia. Cerebellum plays an important role in motor control, nonetheless only a few studies investigated the effects of METH in this area. In this article, we report preliminary results on protein expression in the cerebellum following METH administration. In particular, we focused on the rate-limiting catecholamine-synthesizing enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). By using immunoblotting, we found that METH administration produces a dose-dependent increase of TH within the cerebellar cortex of mice, which is opposite to the decrease of TH within the striatum. Further investigations are needed in order to determine the time course, the cerebellar regions, the cellular (and subcellular) compartments, and the functional role related to these effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Morphology and Applied Biology, University of Pisa, Via Roma, 55, I-56126 Pisa, Italy. f.fornai@med.unipi.it
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferrucci
authors.forename: Carla L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Busceti
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falleni
authors.forename: Filippo S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Giorgi
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ruggieri
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fornai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000187:drug effects*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D015259:Dopamine Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase
chemical_list: D015259:Dopamine Agents; D008694:Methamphetamine; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase