Methamphetamine-induced dopaminergic hyperactivity is not accompanied with increase in tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA of the rat midbrain

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNA was measured in the midbrain of rats treated repeatedly with methamphetamine (MAP). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were daily injected with MAP (5 mg/kg, i.p., once daily) or saline for 14 days. Progressive augmentation was observed in MAP-induced stereotyped behaviors. After one week of abstinence, the rats were decapitated and the brains were prepared for either in situ hybridization using non-radioactive cRNA probes or Northern blot analysis using 32P-labeled cDNA probes. In situ hybridization showed that the signals of TH mRNA were localized to the dopaminergic perikarya in the midbrain and were reduced in MAP-treated animals compared to the controls. Northern blot analysis revealed that the level of TH mRNA in the midbrain of MAP-treated rats was decreased by 37% compared to the controls, which was close to the statistical significance ( P = 0.053). These results indicate that the dopaminergic hyperactivity caused by repeated MAP treatment is not associated with enhanced transcription of the TH gene.