Reverse microdialysis of a 5-HT2A receptor antagonist alters extracellular glutamate levels in the striatum of the MPTP mouse model of Parkinson’s disease

• There was elevated basal striatal glutamate 3 weeks after MPTP administration.
• Striatal serotonin was elevated, but dopamine was reduced in MPTP-treated mice.
• Local infusion of M100907 to the striatum decreased extracellular glutamate levels.
• Local infusion of M100907 had no effect on striatal serotonin or dopamine levels.
• Glutamatergic transmission in PD may be normalized by 5-HT2A receptor blockade.

Clinical observations have suggested that antagonism of 5-HT2A receptors may benefit patients with parkinsonian symptomatology. The mechanism of the antiparkinsonian effects of 5-HT2A receptor antagonists has not been fully elucidated. We have shown that the selective 5-HT2A receptor antagonist M100907 [R-(+)-alpha-(2,3-dimethoxyphenyl)-1-[2-(4-fluorophenethyl)]-4-piperidinemethanol] improved motor impairments in mice treated with the parkinsonian neurotoxin, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). In Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients and animal models of parkinsonism dopamine denervation is associated with increased cortico-striatal glutamatergic transmission. We hypothesized that 5-HT2A receptor antagonists may exert their antiparkinsonian effects by decreasing striatal glutamate. Here, using in vivo microdialysis, we have shown an increased basal level of extracellular striatal glutamate when measured 3 weeks after MPTP administration. The local administration of M100907 to the striatum significantly decreased striatal extracellular glutamate levels in MPTP-treated and saline treated mice. Basal extracellular serotonin (5-HT) levels were also elevated, whereas dopamine (DA) levels were significantly reduced in the striatum of MPTP-treated mice. Infusion of M100907 into the striatum produced no effect on dopamine or 5-HT levels. Local application of tetrodotoxin suppressed glutamate, 5-HT and DA concentrations in striatal dialysates in the presence or absence of M100907. The striatal expression of the glutamate transporter GLT1 was unchanged. However, there was an upregulation of the expression of 5-HT2A receptors in the striatum of MPTP-treated animals. Our data provide further evidence of enhanced glutamatergic neurotransmission in parkinsonism and demonstrate that blocking 5-HT2A receptors in the striatum will normalize glutamatergic neurotransmission.