Repeated cocaine or methamphetamine treatment alters astrocytic CRF2 and GLAST expression in the ventral midbrain.

ABSTRACT: Dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) play a central role in the reinforcing properties of abused drugs including methamphetamine and cocaine. Chronic effects of psychostimulants in the SN/VTA also involve non-dopaminergic transmitters, including glutamate and the stress-related peptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). In the SN/VTA, astrocytes express a variety of membrane-bound neurotransmitter receptors and transporters that influence neurotransmission. CRF receptor type 2 (CRF2) activity in the VTA is important for stress-induced relapse and drug-seeking behaviour, but the localization of its effects is incompletely understood. Here, we first identified CRF2 transcript in astrocytes of the SN/VTA using RNA-Seq in Aldh1l1;NuTRAP mice and con

SUBMITTER: Sharpe AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9872560 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature