The orphan G protein-coupled receptor 37 (GPR37) is a substrate of parkin; its insoluble aggregates accumulate in brain samples of Parkinson's disease patients. We report here that GPR37 interacts with the dopamine transporter (DAT) and modulates DAT activity. GPR37 and DAT were found colocalized in mouse striatal presynaptic membranes and in transfected cells and their interaction was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation assays. Gpr37-null mutant mice showed enhanced DAT-mediated dopamine uptake in striatal membrane samples, with a significant increase in the number of plasma membrane DAT molecules. The null mutant mice also exhibited a decrease in cocaine-induced locomotor activity and in catalepsy induced by dopamine receptor antagonists. These results reveal the specific role of GPR37, a putative peptidergic G proteincoupled receptor, in modulating the functional expression of DAT and the behavioral responses to dopaminergic drugs.G protein-coupled receptor ͉ Parkinson's disease ͉ dopamine transporter T he orphan G protein-coupled receptor 37 (GPR37) is homologous to endothelin (ET B -R) and bombesin (GRP-R, NMB-R) receptors (1) and it is highly expressed in mammalian brain oligodendrocytes, Purkinje cells, and neurons belonging to the CA3 hippocampal region and to the substantia nigra (SN) pars compacta (2). GPR37 is a substrate of the ubiquitin-protein ligase parkin, and it has been named parkin-associated endothelin-like receptor (PAEL-R) (3). An insoluble form of GPR37 is accumulated in brain samples of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, and the overexpression of GPR37 in cell cultures, in the absence of parkin, can lead to unfolded protein-induced cell death (3, 4). Little is known about the physiological function of the receptor in the brain and in dopaminergic neurons in particular, although it has been speculated that the aggregation of GPR37 in insoluble complexes is responsible for the preferential loss of SN neurons through the endoplasmic reticulum-specific apoptotic pathway (5, 6). Recent data reported an interaction between GPR37, the head activator neuropeptide and its binding protein (sorting protein-related receptor; SorLA), supporting the hypothesis that GPR37 is involved in neuronal cell survival (7). To investigate the receptor's function, we generated homozygous Gpr37-null mutant mice, which exhibit a reduction in striatal dopamine (DA) content, specific locomotor deficits, and enhanced sensitivity to amphetamine (8).Several binding partners for the DA transporter (DAT) have been identified, suggesting that a regulated multiprotein complex controls its synthesis, targeting, and expression at specific cellular membrane domains (9). Presynaptic DAT expression is of crucial importance in modulating the synaptic availability of DA at nigrostriatal synapses, and its regulation is dynamically controlled for the maintenance of normal dopaminergic neurotransmission. The increase or decrease of DAT expression in the presynaptic membranes results in decreased or increased synaptic DA concentration, ...