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We previously generated a knock-in mouse line with a cocaine-insensitive dopamine transporter (DAT-CI mice). These mice lost several behavioral responses to cocaine, but retained their response to amphetamine. DAT-CI mice are hyperdopaminergic due to reduced DAT function, and may thus be a good model for studying attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These mice had been behaviorally characterized while they were on a mixed genetic background. However as the colony was propagated over time, the mixed genetics were shifted toward a pure C57Bl/6J background--via a common breeding scheme known as "backcrossing." Several phenotypes appeared to have changed during this time frame. In this study, we investigated whether backcrossing altered the hyperlocomotive phenotype and behavioral responses to amphetamine, a drug used to treat ADHD. C57-congenic DAT-CI mice had high spontaneous locomotor activity that could be suppressed by low doses of amphetamine. Furthermore, their locomotion was not stimulated by very high doses of amphetamine (20mg/kg). After the reversion to a mixed genetic background by breeding with the 129 strain, the C57:129 hybrid DAT-CI mice displayed reduced basal locomotor activity compared to the C57-congenic mutant mice, and regained locomotor stimulation by high-dose amphetamine. The calming effect of amphetamine at low doses was retained in both strains. In summary, reduced DAT function in DAT-CI mice leads to a hyperdopaminergic state, and an ADHD-like phenotype in both strains. The data show that the genetic background of DAT-CI mice affects their locomotor phenotypes and their responses to amphetamine. Since the differences in genetic background between the strains of mice have a significant impact on the ADHD-like phenotype and the response to amphetamine, further study with these strains could identify the genetic underpinnings affecting the severity of ADHD-related symptoms and the treatment response., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The dopamine transporter (DAT) plays a critical role in regulating dopamine neurotransmission. Variations in DAT or changes in basal dopaminergic tone have been shown to alter behavior and drug responses. DAT is one of the three known high affinity targets for cocaine, a powerful psychostimulant that produces reward and stimulates locomotor activity in humans and animals. We have shown that cocaine no longer produces reward in knock-in mice with a cocaine insensitive mutant DAT (DAT-CI), suggesting that cocaine inhibition of DAT is critical for its rewarding effect. However, in DAT-CI mice, the mutant DAT has significantly reduced uptake activity resulting in elevated basal dopaminergic tone, which might cause adaptive changes that alter responses to cocaine. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine how elevated dopaminergic tone affects how mice respond to cocaine., Results: We examined the cocaine induced behavior of DAT knockdown mice that have DAT expression reduced by 90% when compared to the wild type mice. Despite a dramatic reduction of DAT expression and marked elevation in basal dopamine tone, cocaine produced reward, as measured by conditioned place preference, and stimulated locomotor activity in these mice., Conclusion: A reduction in DAT expression and elevation of dopaminergic tone do not lead to adaptive changes that abolish the rewarding and stimulating effects of cocaine. Therefore, the lack of reward to cocaine observed in DAT-CI mice is unlikely to have resulted from the reduced DAT activity but instead is likely due to the inability of cocaine to block the mutated DAT and increase extracellular dopamine. This study supports the conclusion that the blockade of DAT is required for cocaine reward and locomotor stimulation.

There are three known high-affinity targets for cocaine: the dopamine transporter (DAT), the serotonin transporter (SERT), and the norepinephrine transporter (NET). Decades of studies support the dopamine (DA) hypothesis that the blockade of DAT and the subsequent increase in extracellular DA primarily mediate cocaine reward and reinforcement. Contrary to expectations, DAT knockout (DAT-KO) mice and SERT or NET knockout mice still self-administer cocaine and/or display conditioned place preference (CPP) to cocaine, which led to the reevaluation of the DA hypothesis and the proposal of redundant reward pathways. To study the role of DAT in cocaine reward, we have generated a knockin mouse line carrying a functional DAT that is insensitive to cocaine. In these mice, cocaine suppressed locomotor activity, did not elevate extracellular DA in the nucleus accumbens, and did not produce reward as measured by CPP. This result suggests that blockade of DAT is necessary for cocaine reward in mice with a functional DAT. This mouse model is unique in that it is specifically designed to differentiate the role of DAT from the roles of NET and SERT in cocaine-induced biochemical and behavioral effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In previous studies, we generated knock-in mice with a cocaine-insensitive dopamine transporter (DAT-CI mice) and found cocaine does not stimulate locomotion or produce reward in these mice, indicating DAT inhibition is necessary for cocaine stimulation and reward. However, DAT uptake is reduced in DAT-CI mice and thus the lack of cocaine responses could be due to adaptive changes. To test this, we used adeno-associated virus (AAV) to reintroduce the cocaine-sensitive wild type DAT (AAV-DATwt) back into adult DAT-CI mice, which restores cocaine inhibition of DAT in affected brain regions but does not reverse the adaptive changes. In an earlier study we showed that AAV-DATwt injections in regions covering the lateral nucleus accumbens (NAc) and lateral caudate-putamen (CPu) restored cocaine stimulation but not cocaine reward. In the current study, we expanded the AAV-DATwt infected areas to cover the olfactory tubercle (Tu) and the ventral midbrain (vMB) containing the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra (SN) in addition to CPu and NAc with multiple injections. These mice displayed the restoration of both locomotor stimulation and cocaine reward. We further found that AAV-DATwt injection in the vMB alone was sufficient to restore both cocaine stimulation and reward in DAT-CI mice. AAV injected in the VTA and SN resulted in DATwt expression and distribution to the DA terminal regions. In summary, cocaine induced locomotion and reward can be restored in fully developed DAT-CI mice, and cocaine inhibition of DAT expressed in dopaminergic neurons originated from the ventral midbrain mediates cocaine reward and stimulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cocaine's main pharmacological actions are the inhibition of the dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine transporters. Its main behavioral effects are reward and locomotor stimulation, potentially leading to addiction. Using knock-in mice with a cocaine-insensitive dopamine transporter (DAT-CI mice) we have shown previously that inhibition of the dopamine transporter (DAT) is necessary for both of these behaviors. In this study, we sought to determine brain regions in which DAT inhibition by cocaine stimulates locomotor activity and/or produces reward. We used adeno-associated viral vectors to re-introduce the cocaine-sensitive wild-type DAT in specific brain regions of DAT-CI mice, which otherwise only express a cocaine-insensitive DAT globally. Viral-mediated expression of wild-type DAT in the rostrolateral striatum restored cocaine-induced locomotor stimulation and sensitization in DAT-CI mice. In contrast, the expression of wild-type DAT in the dorsal striatum, or in the medial nucleus accumbens, did not restore cocaine-induced locomotor stimulation. These data help to determine cocaine's molecular actions and anatomical loci that cause hyperlocomotion. Interestingly, cocaine did not produce significant reward – as measured by conditioned place-preference – in any of the three cohorts of DAT-CI mice with the virus injections. Therefore, the locus or loci underlying cocaine-induced reward remain underdetermined. It is possible that multiple dopamine-related brain regions are involved in producing the robust rewarding effect of cocaine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]