| First Author | Xu F | Year | 2000 |
| Journal | Nat Neurosci | Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 465-71 |
| PubMed ID | 10769386 | Mgi Jnum | J:61825 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1355627 | Doi | 10.1038/74839 |
| Citation | Xu F, et al. (2000) Mice lacking the norepinephrine transporter are supersensitive to psychostimulants. Nat Neurosci 3(5):465-71 |
| abstractText | The action of norepinephrine (NE) is terminated, in part, by its uptake into presynaptic noradrenergic neurons by the plasma-membrane NE transporter (NET), which is a target for antidepressants and psychostimulants. Disruption of the NET gene in mice prolonged the clearance of NE and elevated extracellular levels of this catecholamine. In a classical test for antidepressant drugs, the NET-deficient (NET-/-) animals behaved like antidepressant-treated wild-type mice. Mutants were hyper-responsive to locomotor stimulation by cocaine or amphetamine. These responses were accompanied by dopamine D2/D3 receptor supersensitivity. Thus altering NET expression significantly modulates midbrain dopaminergic function, an effect that may be an important component of the actions of antidepressants and psychostimulants. |
