Abstract
Our previous studies demonstrated that the psychostimulant methamphetamine (MA) and the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) protein Tat interacted to cause enhanced dopaminergic neurotoxicity. The present study examined whether tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) mediates the interaction between Tat and MA. In Sprague-Dawley rats, injections of Tat caused a small but significant increase in striatal TNF-α level, whereas MA resulted in no change. The increase in TNF-α induced by Tat + MA was not significantly different from that induced by Tat alone. Temporal analysis of TNF-α levels revealed a 50-fold increase 4 h after Tat administration. In C57BL/6 mice, Tat + MA induced a 50% decline in striatal dopamine levels, which was significantly attenuated in mice lacking both receptors for TNF-α. TNF-α synthesis inhibitors significantly attenuated Tat + MA neurotoxicity in hippocampal neuronal culture. The results suggest that Tat-induced elevation of TNF-α may predispose the dopaminergic terminals to subsequent damage by MA.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 663-668 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Neurobiology of Disease |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2006 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by grants DA13144 to WFM and AG17963 to WAC. The authors wish to thank Dr. Annadora Bruce-Keller (Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Kentucky) for providing TNF receptor knockout mice for the studies and Gary Pattison for technical assistance.
Keywords
- AIDS
- Basal ganglia
- Cytokines
- Dopamine
- Drug abuse
- Neurodegeneration
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neurology