title: Cocaine challenge enhances release of neuroprotective amino acid taurine in the striatum of chronic cocaine treated rats: a microdialysis study.
abstract: Drug addiction is a serious public health problem. There is increasing evidence on the involvement of augmented glutamatergic transmission in cocaine-induced addiction and neurotoxicity. We investigated effects of acute or chronic cocaine administration and cocaine challenge following chronic cocaine exposure on the release of excitotoxic glutamate and neuroprotective taurine in the rat striatum by microdialysis. Cocaine challenge, following withdrawal after repeated cocaine exposure markedly increased the release of glutamate, which may cause neurotoxicity. Simultaneously, cocaine challenge after withdrawal also significantly increased the release of taurine, which counteracts glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity and possibly cell death. Thus, the mammalian brain has an endogenous self-protective mechanism against cocaine-mediated neurotoxicity and potentially addiction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The City University of New York, Medical School, New York, 10031, USA.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yablonsky-Alter
authors.forename: Mervan S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Agovic
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gashi
authors.forename: Theodore I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Lidsky
authors.forename: Eitan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: Shailesh P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Banerjee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003042:Cocaine / Q000378:metabolism*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017551:Microdialysis; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism; D013654:Taurine / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D013654:Taurine; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D003042:Cocaine