Excess glutamatergic neurotransmission may contribute to excitotoxic loss of nigrostriatal neurons in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Here, we determined if increasing glutamate uptake could reduce the extent of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) loss in PD progression. The beta-lactam antibiotic, ceftriaxone, increases the expression of glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1), a glutamate transporter that plays a major role in glutamate clearance in central nervous system and may attenuate adverse behavioral or neurobiological function in other neurodegenerative disease models. In association with >80 % TH loss, we observed a significant decrease in glutamate uptake in the established 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) PD model. Ceftriaxone (200 mg/kg, i.p.) increased striatal glutamate uptake with ≥ 5 consecutive days of injection in nonlesioned rats and lasted out to 14 days postinjection, a time beyond that required for 6-OHDA to produce >70 % TH loss (~9 days). When ceftriaxone was given at the time of 6-OHDA, TH loss was ~57 % compared to ~85 % in temporally matched vehicle-injected controls and amphetamine-induced rotation was reduced about 2-fold. This attenuation of TH loss was associated with increased glutamate uptake, increased GLT-1 expression, and reduced Serine 19 TH phosphorylation, a calcium-dependent target specific for nigrostriatal neurons. These results reveal that glutamate uptake can be targeted in a PD model, decrease the rate of TH loss in a calcium-dependent manner, and attenuate locomotor behavior associated with 6-OHDA lesion. Given that detection of reliable PD markers will eventually be employed in susceptible populations, our results give credence to the possibility that increasing glutamate uptake may prolong the time period before locomotor impairment occurs.

The dopamine transporter (DAT) regulates synaptic dopamine (DA) in striatum and modulation of DAT can affect locomotor activity. Thus, in Parkinson’s disease (PD), DAT loss could affect DA clearance and locomotor activity. The locomotor benefits of L-DOPA may be mediated by transport through monoamine transporters and conversion to DA. However, its impact upon DA reuptake is unknown and may modulate synaptic DA. Using the unilateral 6-OHDA rat PD model, we examined [3H]DA uptake dynamics in relation to striatal DAT and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) protein loss compared with contralateral intact striatum. Despite >70% striatal DAT loss, DA uptake decreased only ∼25% and increased as DAT loss approached 99%. As other monoamine transporters can transport DA, we determined if norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT) differentially modulated DA uptake in lesioned striatum. Unlabeled DA, NE, and 5-HT were used, at a concentration that differentially inhibited DA uptake in intact striatum, to compete against [3H]DA uptake. In 6-OHDA lesioned striatum, DA was less effective, whereas NE was more effective, at inhibiting [3H]DA uptake. Furthermore, norepinephrine transporter (NET) protein levels increased and desipramine was ∼two-fold more effective at inhibiting NE uptake. Serotonin inhibited [3H]DA uptake, but without significant difference between lesioned and contralateral striatum. L-DOPA inhibited [3H]DA uptake two-fold more in lesioned striatum and inhibited NE uptake ∼five-fold more than DA uptake in naïve striatum. Consequently, DA uptake may be mediated by NET when DAT loss is at PD levels. Increased inhibition of DA uptake by L-DOPA and its preferential inhibition of NE over DA uptake, indicates that NET-mediated DA uptake may be modulated by L-DOPA when DAT loss exceeds 70%. These results indicate a novel mechanism for DA uptake during PD progression and provide new insight into how L-DOPA affects DA uptake, revealing possible mechanisms of its therapeutic and side effect potential.

Background Increased extracellular glutamate may contribute to L-DOPA induced dyskinesia, a debilitating side effect faced by Parkinson’s disease patients 5–10 years after L-DOPA treatment. Therapeutic strategies targeting post-synaptic glutamate receptors to mitigate dyskinesia may have limited success due to significant side effects. Increasing glutamate uptake may be another approach to attenuate excess glutamatergic neurotransmission to mitigate dyskinesia severity or prolong the time prior to onset. Initiation of a ceftriaxone regimen at time of nigrostriatal lesion, can attenuate tyrosine hydroxylase loss in conjunction with increased glutamate uptake and glutamate transporter GLT-1 expression in a rat 6-hydroxydopamine model. Here, we examined if a ceftriaxone regimen initiated 1 week after nigrostriatal lesion, but prior to L-DOPA, could reduce L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in an established dyskinesia model. Methods Ceftriaxone (200 mg/kg, i.p., once daily, 7 consecutive days) was initiated 7 days post-6-hydroxydopamine lesion (days 7–13) and continued every other week (days 21–27, 35–39) until the end of the study (day 39 post-lesion, 20 days of L-DOPA). Results Ceftriaxone significantly reduced abnormal involuntary movements at 5 time points examined during chronic L-DOPA treatment. Partial recovery of motor impairment from nigrostriatal lesion by L-DOPA was unaffected by ceftriaxone. The ceftriaxone-treated L-DOPA group had significantly increased striatal GLT-1 expression and glutamate uptake. Striatal tyrosine hydroxylase loss in this group was not significantly different compared to the L-DOPA alone group. Conclusions Initiation of ceftriaxone after nigrostriatal lesion, but prior to and during L-DOPA, may reduce dyskinesia severity without affecting L-DOPA efficacy or reduction of striatal tyrosine hydroxylase loss.

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Pharmacological dopamine (DA) replacement with Levodopa [L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA)] is the gold standard treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, long-term L-DOPA treatment is complicated by eventual debilitating abnormal involuntary movements termed L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia (LID), a clinically significant obstacle for the majority of patients who rely on L-DOPA to alleviate PD-related motor symptoms. The manifestation of LID may in part be driven by excessive extracellular DA derived from L-DOPA, but potential involvement of DA reuptake in LID severity or expression is unknown. We recently reported that in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned striatum, norepinephrine transporter (NET) expression increases and may play a significant role in DA transport. Furthermore, L-DOPA preferentially inhibits DA uptake in lesioned striatum. Therefore, we hypothesized that desipramine (DMI), a NET antagonist, could affect the severity of LID in an established LID model. Whereas DMI alone elicited no dyskinetic effects in lesioned rats, DMI 1 L-DOPA-treated rats gradually expressed more severe dyskinesia compared with L-DOPA alone over time. At the conclusion of the study, we observed reduced NET expression and norepinephrine-mediated inhibition of DA uptake in the DMI 1 L-DOPA group compared with L-DOPA-alone group in lesioned striatum. LID severity positively correlated with striatal extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase phosphorylation among the three treatment groups, with increased ppERK1/2 in DMI 1 L-DOPA group compared with the L-DOPA-and DMI-alone groups. Taken together, these results indicate that the combination of chronic L-DOPA and NET-mediated DA reuptake in lesioned nigrostriatal terminals may have a role in LID severity in experimental Parkinsonism.