3206 The Journal of Neuroscience, March 22, 2006 26(12):3206 3209

Brief Communications

Cocaine Increases Dopamine Release by Mobilization of a

Synapsin-Dependent Reserve Pool
B. Jill Venton,1 Andrew T. Seipel,1 Paul E. M. Phillips,2 William C. Wetsel,3 Daniel Gitler,4 Paul Greengard,5
George J. Augustine,4 and R. Mark Wightman1
1Department of Chemistry and Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, 2Department of
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, 3Departments of Psychiatry
and Behavioral Sciences, Medicine (Endocrinology), and Cell Biology, and Mouse Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Analysis Core Facility, and 4Department
of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, and 5Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Rockefeller
University, New York, New York 10021

Cocaine primarily exerts its behavioral effects by enhancing dopaminergic neurotransmission, amplifying dopamine-encoded sensori-
motor integration. The presumed mechanism for this effect is inhibition of the dopamine transporter, which blocks dopamine uptake and
prolongs the duration of dopamine in the extracellular space. However, there is growing evidence that cocaine can also augment dopa-
mine release. Here, we directly monitored the actions of cocaine on dopamine release by using electrochemical detection to measure
extracellular dopamine in the striatum of anesthetized mice. Cocaine enhanced the levels of striatal dopamine produced by electrical
stimulation of dopaminergic neurons. Even after pretreatment with -methyl-p-tyrosine, which depletes the readily releasable pool of
dopamine, cocaine was still capable of elevating dopamine levels. This suggests that cocaine enhances dopamine release by mobilizing a
reserve pool of dopamine-containing synaptic vesicles. To test this hypothesis, we examined electrically evoked dopamine release in
synapsin I/II/III triple knock-out mice, which have impaired synaptic vesicle reserve pools. Knock-out of synapsins greatly reduced the
ability of cocaine to enhance dopamine release with long stimulus trains or after depletion of the newly synthesized pool. We therefore
conclude that cocaine enhances dopamine release and does so by mobilizing a synapsin-dependent reserve pool of dopamine-containing
synaptic vesicles. This capacity to enhance exocytotic release of dopamine may be important for the psychostimulant actions of cocaine.
Key words: cocaine; synapsin; dopamine; in vivo voltammetry; storage pools; psychostimulant

Introduction The mechanisms through which cocaine enhances dopami-

Dopamine neurons in the midbrain are synchronously and tran- nergic neurotransmission have long been debated (Bauman and
siently activated by presentation of salient stimuli, including Maitre, 1976). It is well established that cocaine competitively
those that predict reinforcers (Schultz, 1998). These neurons inhibits the dopamine transporter (DAT), thereby elevating ex-
project to areas of the forebrain that ultimately modulate motor tracellular levels of dopamine (Jones et al., 1995). However, sev-
performance. Indeed, striatal dopaminergic terminals are strate- eral reports point toward the possibility that cocaine and other
gically located to play a central role in sensorimotor integration psychostimulants can also affect release of dopamine (Stamford
(Taghzouti et al., 1985). Recent findings demonstrate that tran- et al., 1989; Lee et al., 2001). The first indication of an effect of
sient dopamine surges occur in the striatum in response to im- cocaine on dopamine release came from the observation that
portant natural (Robinson et al., 2002; Roitman et al., 2004) or cocaine and other nonamphetamine psychostimulants can still
drug-related (Phillips et al., 2003) stimuli, and that these tran- stimulate the CNS even after dopamine availability is limited by
sients are involved in directing the animals behavior. Cocaine, an inhibiting its synthesis (Shore, 1976). These results were inter-
important drug of abuse, enhances sensorimotor reactivity preted to mean that the psychostimulants act by mobilizing a
through its action on dopamine terminals (Davis, 1985). Indeed, storage pool of dopamine. Support for this interpretation was
physiological and emotional responses to drug-related sensory provided by the demonstration that one of these psychostimu-
stimuli are enhanced after cocaine use in humans (Childress et lants, amfonelic acid, can restore dopamine release after deple-
al., 1999). tion of newly synthesized dopamine with -methyl-p-tyrosine
(MPT) (Ewing et al., 1983). Although these findings were in-
Received Dec. 1, 2004; revised Feb. 3, 2006; accepted Feb. 4, 2006.
triguing, they were unable to elucidate cellular or molecular sub-
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants NS-38879 and DA-10900 (R.M.W.) and by strates for this postulated cocaine-sensitive storage pool.
National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH-067044 (G.J.A.), MH39327, and DA10044 (P.G.). D.G. was a Pfizer More recent studies of other neurotransmitter systems have
fellow of the Life Sciences Research Foundation and a European Molecular Biology Organization fellow. shown that several different pools of secretory vesicles exist (for
Correspondence should be addressed to R. Mark Wightman, Department of Chemistry, University of North Caro-
lina, Venable Hall Campus Box 3290, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3290. E-mail: [email protected].
review, see Neher, 1998). These include a releasable pool of vesi-
DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4901-04.2006 cles that are available for immediate exocytosis and a reserve pool
Copyright 2006 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/06/263206-04$15.00/0 of vesicles that are spatially segregated and mobilized after pro-
Venton et al. Cocaine Increases Dopamine Release J. Neurosci., March 22, 2006 26(12):3206 3209 3207

longed synaptic activity (Pieribone et al., 1995; Rosenmund and

Stevens, 1996; Kuromi and Kidokoro, 1998; Duncan et al., 2003;
Richards et al., 2003). Therefore, it is possible that cocaine could
also mobilize dopaminergic vesicles from such a reserve pool.
Here, we consider this hypothesis by using mice in which all three
known synapsin genes have been disrupted, synapsin I/II/III
triple-knock-out (TKO) mice. Synapsins are phosphoproteins
that interact with the surface of synaptic vesicles and segregate Figure 1. Effects of cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) on dopamine release evoked by 900 pulse, 60 Hz
synaptic vesicles into the reserve pool (Greengard et al., 1993; electrical stimulations. Predrug traces are displayed on the left, and postinjection traces (10 13
Hilfiker et al., 1999). These mice are viable but have severe deficits in min after cocaine administration and 40 min after the previous stimulation) are shown on the
their synaptic vesicle reserve pools (Gitler et al., 2004b). We found right. A, Representative traces from WT mice. B, Representative traces from TKO mice. The data
are traces from cyclic voltammetric recordings.
that cocaine enhances dopamine released by stimuli that mobilize
vesicles from the reserve pool in wild-type mice but has little effect on
dopamine release in the TKO mice. These results indicate that co-
characterized previously in rats and is attributed to a long-term
caine enhances dopamine release by mobilizing a synapsin-
depression of dopamine release (Montague et al., 2004). After the
dependent reserve pool of dopamine-containing synaptic vesicles.
stimulation, dopamine concentration declined rapidly because of
Materials and Methods neuronal uptake of dopamine (Garris et al., 1994). Ten minutes
Animals. Synapsin (I/II/III) TKO and wild-type (WT) mice were generated
after administration of cocaine (10 mg/kg), the amplitude of the
at The Rockefeller University (New York, NY) and bred at Duke University evoked dopamine response ([DA]max) increased and reached lev-
(Durham, NC), as described previously (Gitler et al., 2004a,b). els that were 146 26% of predrug values (n 6 mice). The
Surgery. Animals were anesthetized with urethane (1.5 g/kg, i.p.) and clearance of dopamine after stimulation appears in Figure 1 to be
placed in a stereotaxic frame. The coordinates for placement of the work- little affected by cocaine. This is because the dopamine concen-
ing electrode in the caudateputamen are (in mm from bregma): antero- trations evoked by the long stimuli greatly exceed Km, the uptake
posterior (AP) 1.1, mediolateral (ML) 1.2, and dorsoventral (DV) parameter that is affected by cocaine (Venton et al., 2003). How-
2.2. The stimulating electrode was placed in the medial forebrain bun- ever, when the rate of uptake is examined at low (submicromo-
dle at AP 2.4, ML 1.1, DV 4.5. The dorsoventral placement of both lar) dopamine concentrations, near the natural Km value,
the working and stimulating electrodes was adjusted in small increments changes in Km after cocaine can be observed. The apparent value
to find maximal dopamine release. An Ag/AgCl reference electrode was
of Km determined under these conditions was 179 49% of the
inserted into the contralateral side of the brain.
Electrochemistry. Dopamine was detected with 50-m-long cylindrical predrug value in WT mice (n 4).
carbon-fiber microelectrodes (Venton et al., 2002). Dopamine signals This experiment was repeated in synapsin TKO mice to exam-
were identified with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry with a voltage scan ine the potential role of a reserve pool of dopamine in the re-
from 0.4 to 1.0 V and back at 300 V/s, repeated every 100 ms. For sponse to cocaine. Dopamine responses evoked by the same pro-
pharmacology experiments, once a dopamine release site was identified longed stimuli described above had a similar waveform in the
with cyclic voltammetry, constant-potential amperometry (0.3 V) was TKO mice as in WT mice (Fig. 1 B). However, 10 min after co-
used, because it has a more rapid time response (Venton et al., 2002). caine, the amplitude of the stimulated dopamine release was di-
Electrodes were calibrated in vitro after the experiment using known minished, reaching levels that were only 78 2% of predrug
concentrations of dopamine. values (n 6 mice). Thus, the pool mobilized by cocaine appears to
Data analysis. Amperometric data recorded during 24 pulse stimula-
be absent in synapsin TKO mice. The apparent value of Km was
tions were modeled (Venton et al., 2003) by assuming that each stimulus
pulse evokes an increase in the extracellular concentration of dopamine 206 77% of the predrug value in TKO mice (n 6), a value that is
([DA]p). In the time between stimulus pulses and after the stimulus train, not statistically different from that found in WT mice ( p 0.05).
uptake of dopamine by the DAT was assumed to follow MichaelisMen-
Effects of cocaine on dopamine release after synthesis inhibition
ten kinetics with an apparent affinity for dopamine (Km) of 0.2 M in WT
We next examined more directly the ability of cocaine to mobilize
mice (Joseph et al., 2002; Venton et al., 2003) and a maximum rate of
uptake of the DAT (Vmax) that is a function of the density of proximal the reserve pool of dopamine. This was done by depleting the
uptake sites. The simulation also included an apparent distance (dapp) releasable pool to 25% of its predrug value (Ewing et al., 1983)
that dopamine can diffuse. After block of uptake by competitive inhibi- by repeatedly applying long-duration stimulus trains (600 pulses
tors, Vmax was kept constant, and the remaining parameters were allowed at 60 Hz) after administration of MPT (200 mg/kg, i.p.), a do-
to vary until an optimal fit to the data was obtained. Statistical compar- pamine synthesis inhibitor. Shorter-duration stimuli (24 pulses
isons were performed in Microsoft (Seattle, WA) Excel using t tests. Data at 60 Hz) were then applied to probe the effects of cocaine. In the
are reported as mean SEM and were considered significant at p 0.05. absence of MPT, maximal responses to these stimuli were rela-
Drugs. Cocaine and MPT were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. tively constant over time (Fig. 2 A). However, injection of MPT
Louis, MO). All drugs were dissolved in saline for intraperitoneal caused the amount of dopamine released by either type of stim-
administration.
ulus to be reduced by 75% (Fig. 2 A). Consistent with previous
Results work with other psychostimulants done in rats (Ewing et al.,
Effects of cocaine on electrically evoked dopamine release 1983), cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) restored the amplitude of re-
Dopamine release was measured in the caudateputamen of sponses to electrical stimuli (Fig. 2 A, open symbols). Thus, co-
anesthetized mice while the medial forebrain bundle was stimu- caine can enhance dopamine responses, even after the readily
lated with long stimuli (900 pulses, 60 Hz) to probe the multiple releasable pool of dopamine is mostly depleted by MPT. This
compartments of releasable dopamine. At the onset of electrical suggests that cocaine releases dopamine from a pool that is dis-
stimulation in WT mice, dopamine rapidly appeared in the cau- tinct from the readily releasable pool.
dateputamen (Fig. 1 A). As the stimulation proceeded, dopa- To evaluate the role of synapsins in the cocaine-sensitive pool,
mine concentration reached a maximum and then slowly dimin- similar experiments were done in the synapsin TKO mice. As in
ished. This biphasic response during stimulation is similar to that the WT mice, 600 pulse, 60 Hz stimuli delivered to TKO mice
3208 J. Neurosci., March 22, 2006 26(12):3206 3209 Venton et al. Cocaine Increases Dopamine Release

diminished releasable dopamine to 25%

after MPT (200 mg/kg, i.p.) (Fig. 2 A).
However, subsequent administration of
cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) to synapsin TKO
mice caused a much smaller increase in
the maximal evoked release of dopamine
(Fig. 2 A). Fitting the responses to 24
pulses with the mathematical model indi-
cated that MPT caused Km values to in-
crease slightly in both types of mice; we
Figure 2. Effects of MPT (200 mg/kg, i.p.) followed by cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) administration on stimulated dopamine
attribute this to the metabolism of MPT release in WT (open circles) and synapsin TKO (filled triangles) mice. Dopamine release was electrically evoked by short (24 pulse,
to p-hydroxyamphetamine (Joseph et al., 60 Hz, every 2 min) stimulation trains except for the 100 min interval after MPT when long (600 pulse, 60 Hz, every 20 min)
2002). Cocaine administration also caused stimulations were used to deplete dopamine stores, and dopamine was measured by constant potential amperometry. The
the same relative change in Km for dopa- stimulation pulses (p) in these time domains are indicated at the top of the figure. A, The peak neurochemical response ([DA]max)
mine uptake in both WT and TKO mice to 24- and 600-pulse stimulations as a percentage of the predrug values. B, Km values obtained from modeling of the experimental
(Fig. 2 B). In contrast, [DA]p values, the data expressed as a percentage of the predrug values. C, [DA]p values obtained by neurochemical modeling of the experimental
amount released per stimulus pulse, re- data expressed as a percentage of the predrug value. The data are presented as the mean SEM from measurements in eight
mained low in TKO mice, whereas they animals for each genotype.
returned to near pre-MPT values in WT
mice (Fig. 2C). The [DA]p values were 42 4% of initial levels mally unavailable dopamine, presumably in a reserve pool, be-
after cocaine in TKO mice and 87 8% of initial levels in WT comes available for release after cocaine as well as other psycho-
mice, values that are statistically different ( p 0.05). Thus, the stimulants (Ewing et al., 1983). Our data extend this conclusion
absence of synapsins significantly reduced mobilization of the by demonstrating that enhanced release after cocaine treatment is
reserve pool of dopamine in response to cocaine. These findings most evident when the contribution of the readily releasable pool
indicate that synapsins play a major role in maintaining the do- is minimized: cocaine increased dopamine release by 50% in
pamine reserve pool and that these proteins serve as a target for control conditions (Fig. 1 A), but increased release approximately
cocaine. fourfold after dopamine synthesis was inhibited by MPT (Fig.
2 A). Thus, cocaine preferentially acts on a pool of dopamine that
is not readily releasable and does not depend on continuous syn-
Discussion thesis of dopamine.
Cocaine, like many other psychostimulants, is a competitive in-
hibitor of the DAT (Wu et al., 2001). Here, we demonstrate that
cocaine can also promote dopamine release from the reserve Synapsins regulate releasable stores in dopamine neurons
Although early investigators of catecholamine metabolism de-
pool. The results are consistent with previous hypotheses that
scribed a reserve compartment for the intracellular storage of
striatal dopamine is segregated into releasable and storage com-
dopamine (Javoy and Glowinski, 1971; Doteuchi et al., 1974), its
partments, and that the latter pool can be mobilized by nonam-
nature and subcellular location have remained essentially un-
phetamine psychostimulants. The molecular bases of the segre-
clear. In nerve terminals using other transmitters such as gluta-
gation of these pools of dopamine were revealed through the use
mate and GABA, a subset of vesicles is sequestered to the cy-
of mice lacking synapsin genes. To minimize the possibility of
toskeleton by synapsins (Greengard et al., 1993; Gitler et al.,
compensation resulting from redundant functions of synapsin
2004b). In synapsin TKO mice, we found that dopamine release
isoforms, we used mice with deletions of all known isoforms of
could still be evoked electrically, but cocaine was much less able
synapsin. In these synapsin TKO mice, both the cocaine-
to enhance electrically evoked dopamine release than in WT an-
mediated augmentation of release after long stimulus trains and
imals. This demonstrates that synapsins also are important for
the ability of cocaine to restore release after synthesis inhibition
the cocaine-sensitive storage pool in dopaminergic terminals. In
were both dramatically reduced, suggesting that cocaine mobi-
fact, dopamine release evoked by long stimuli was actually dimin-
lizes a synapsin-dependent compartment of dopamine vesicles in
ished by cocaine in synapsin TKO mice. This presumably is a
striatal neurons. These results demonstrate that cocaine increases
result of the absence of a reserve pool in combination with the
extracellular dopamine not only by blocking its uptake but also
action of cocaine on dopamine uptake, which would be expected
from mobilizing a synapsin-dependent storage pool.
to impair recycling of dopamine into the releasable pool and
Cocaine increases dopamine release probability cause a net decrease in dopamine release.
In addition to inhibiting dopamine uptake, many psychostimu- These findings indicate that cocaine can increase dopamine
lants enhance the amount of releasable dopamine both in vivo release by mobilizing synapsin-bound vesicles that comprise the
(Ewing et al., 1983; Stamford et al., 1986, 1989) and in vitro dopamine storage pool. How cocaine interacts with synapsin is
(Hafizi et al., 1992; Lee et al., 2001). Our work confirms that cocaine unclear. Cocaine is known to increase dopamine release from
also can promote enhanced release probed with long stimuli. DAT striatal terminals even when isolated from their cell bodies (Lee et
apparently is required for the psychostimulant-induced increase in al., 2001), meaning that cocaine must act locally within the pre-
dopamine release, because this increase in dopamine release is not synaptic terminal. In some cells, cocaine can enhance presynaptic
observed in DAT-deficient mice (Jones et al., 1998). Ca 2 influx (Premkumar, 1999; Yermolaieva et al., 2001), and
Several lines of evidence point toward the conclusion that chronic administration of cocaine increases the sensitivity of re-
cocaine increases dopamine release by mobilizing dopamine leased dopamine to Ca 2 channel blockers (Pierce and Kalivas,
from a reserve pool. Early work indicated that dopamine is stored 1997). It is thought that Ca 2-dependent phosphorylation of
in multiple compartments, with 80% unavailable for immediate synapsins is required for mobilization of vesicles from the reserve
release (Javoy and Glowinski, 1971; Korf et al., 1976). This nor- pool during electrical stimulation (Greengard et al., 1993). Thus,
Venton et al. Cocaine Increases Dopamine Release J. Neurosci., March 22, 2006 26(12):3206 3209 3209

it is possible that cocaine and other psychostimulants enhance of release and uptake in mouse brain slices in the absence of D(3) recep-
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