Substituted amphetamines that produce long-term serotonin depletion in rat brain ("neurotoxicity") do not decrease serotonin transporter protein expression

Administration of high-dose D-fenfluramine (D-FEN) or parachloroamphetamine (PCA) produces long-lasting decreases in serotonin transporter (SERT) binding and tissue levels of serotonin (5-HT) in rat forebrain. These changes have been viewed as evidence for 5-HT neurotoxicity, but few studies have measured SERT protein levels. Thus, in the present study we determined the effect of high-dose D-FEN or PCA, administered according to a "neurotoxic" dosing regimen, on the density of SERT sites using ligand binding methods and on SERT protein levels using Western blots. Rats were sacrificed 2 days and 2 weeks after administration of drug or saline. The density of SERT was determined in homogenates of caudate and whole brain minus caudate. D-FEN and PCA decreased SERT binding by 30 to 60 % in both tissues and at both time points. Similarly, D-FEN and PCA administration profoundly decreased tissue 5-HT and 5-HIAA in frontal cortex. Despite the large decreases in SERT binding and depletion of tissue 5-HT that occurred with D-FEN administration, SERT protein expression, as determined by Western blot analysis, did not change in either tissue or time point. PCA administration decreased SERT protein by about 20 % only at the 2-day point in the caudate. Drug treatments did not change expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a hallmark indicator of neuronal damage, in whole brain minus caudate in the 2-week group. These results support the hypothesis that D-FEN- and PCA-induced decreases in tissue 5-HT and SERT binding sites reflect neuroadaptive changes rather than neurotoxic effects.