Dopamine Uptake through the Norepinephrine Transporter in Brain Regions with Low Levels of the Dopamine Transporter: Evidence from Knock-Out Mouse Lines

Selective blockers of the norepinephrine transporter (NET) inhibit dopamine uptake in the prefrontal cortex. This suggests that dopamine in this region is normally cleared by the somewhat promiscuous NET. We have tested this hypothesis by comparing the effects of inhibitors selective for the three monoamine transporters with those of a nonspecific inhibitor, cocaine, on uptake of 3H-dopamine into synaptosomes from frontal cortex, caudate nucleus, and nucleus accumbens from wild-type, NET, and dopamine transporter (DAT) knock-out mice. Dopamine uptake was inhibited by cocaine and nisoxetine, but not by GBR12909, in frontal cortex synaptosomes from wild-type or DAT knock-out mice. At transporter-specific…