Weimin C Hong

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

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Publications (4)20.3 Total impact

  • Article: Differential targeting of the dopamine transporter to recycling or degradative pathways during amphetamine- or PKC-regulated endocytosis in dopamine neurons.
    Weimin C Hong, Susan G Amara
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    ABSTRACT: The dopamine transporter (DAT) clears the extracellular dopamine released during neurotransmission and is a major target for both therapeutic and addictive psychostimulant amphetamines. Amphetamine exposure or activation of protein kinase C (PKC) by the phorbol ester PMA has been shown to down-regulate cell surface DAT. However, in dopamine neurons, the trafficking itinerary and fate of internalized DAT has not been elucidated. By monitoring surface-labeled DAT in transfected dopamine neurons from embryonic rat mesencephalic cultures, we find distinct sorting and fates of internalized DAT after amphetamine or PMA treatment. Although both drugs promote DAT internalization above constitutive endocytosis in dopamine neurons, PMA induces ubiquitination of DAT and leads to accumulation of DAT on LAMP1-positive endosomes. In contrast, after amphetamine exposure DAT is sorted to recycling endosomes positive for Rab11 and the transferrin receptor. Furthermore, quantitative assessment of DAT recycling using an antibody-feeding assay reveals that significantly less DAT returns to the surface of dopamine neurons after internalization by PMA, compared with vehicle or amphetamine treatment. These results demonstrate that, in neurons, the DAT is sorted differentially to recycling and degradative pathways after psychostimulant exposure or PKC activation, which may allow for either the transient or sustained inhibition of DAT during dopamine neurotransmission.-Hong, W. C., Amara, S. G. Differential targeting of the dopamine transporter to recycling or degradative pathways during amphetamine- or PKC-regulated endocytosis in dopamine neurons.
    The FASEB Journal 04/2013; · 5.71 Impact Factor
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    Article: Temporal expression of mutant LRRK2 in adult rats impairs dopamine reuptake.
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    ABSTRACT: Parkinson's disease (PD) results from progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Most PD cases are sporadic, but some have pathogenic mutation in the individual genes. Mutation of the leucine-rich repeat kinase-2 (LRRK2) gene is associated with familial and sporadic PD, as exemplified by G2019S substitution. While constitutive expression of mutant LRRK2 in transgenic mice fails to induce neuron death, transient expression of the disease gene by viral delivery causes a substantial loss of dopaminergic neurons in mice. To further assess LRRK2 pathogenesis, we created inducible transgenic rats expressing human LRRK2 with G2019S substitution. Temporal overexpression of LRRK2(G2019S) in adult rats impaired dopamine reuptake by dopamine transporter (DAT) and thus enhanced locomotor activity, the phenotypes that were not observed in transgenic rats constitutively expressing the gene throughout life time. Reduced DAT binding activity is an early sign of dopaminergic dysfunction in asymptomatic subjects carrying pathogenic mutation in LRRK2. Our transgenic rats recapitulated the initiation process of dopaminergic dysfunction caused by pathogenic mutation in LRRK2. Inducible transgenic approach uncovered phenotypes that may be obscured by developmental compensation in constitutive transgenic rats. Finding in inducible LRRK2 transgenic rats would guide developing effective strategy in transgenic studies: Inducible expression of transgene may induce greater phenotypes than constitutive gene expression, particularly in rodents with short life time.
    International journal of biological sciences 01/2011; 7(6):753-61. · 2.70 Impact Factor
  • Article: Membrane cholesterol modulates the outward facing conformation of the dopamine transporter and alters cocaine binding.
    Weimin C Hong, Susan G Amara
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    ABSTRACT: Clearance of synaptically released dopamine is regulated by the plasmalemmal dopamine transporter (DAT), an integral membrane protein that resides within a complex lipid milieu. Here we demonstrate that cholesterol, a major component of the lipid bilayer, can modulate the conformation of DAT and alter cocaine binding to DAT. In striatal synaptosomes and transfected cells, DAT was in cholesterol-rich membrane fractions after mild detergent extraction. After increasing the membrane cholesterol content by treatment of water-soluble cholesterol (cholesterol mixed with methyl-β-cyclodextrin), we observed an increase in DAT binding B(max) values for cocaine analogs [(3)H]WIN35428 and [(125)I]RTI-55, but similar levels of DAT proteins on the cell surface were shown by surface biotinylation assays. Membrane cholesterol addition also markedly enhanced the accessibility of cysteine sulfhydryl moieties in DAT as probed by a membrane-impermeable maleimide-biotin conjugate. We identified cysteine 306, a juxtamembrane residue on transmembrane domain 6 (TM6) of DAT, as the intrinsic residue exhibiting enhanced reactivity. Similar effects on DAT cysteine accessibility and radioligand binding were observed with addition of zinc, a reagent known to promote the outward facing conformation of DAT. Using substituted cysteine mutants on various positions likely to be extracellular, we identified additional residues located on TM1, TM6, TM7, and TM12 of DAT that are sensitive to alterations in the membrane cholesterol content. Our findings in transfected cells and native tissues support the hypothesis that DAT adopts an outward facing conformation in a cholesterol-rich membrane environment, suggesting a novel modulatory role of the surrounding membrane lipid milieu on DAT function.
    Journal of Biological Chemistry 10/2010; 285(42):32616-26. · 4.77 Impact Factor
  • Article: Physical and functional interaction between the dopamine transporter and the synaptic vesicle protein synaptogyrin-3.
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    ABSTRACT: Uptake through the dopamine transporter (DAT) represents the primary mechanism used to terminate dopaminergic transmission in brain. Although it is well known that dopamine (DA) taken up by the transporter is used to replenish synaptic vesicle stores for subsequent release, the molecular details of this mechanism are not completely understood. Here, we identified the synaptic vesicle protein synaptogyrin-3 as a DAT interacting protein using the split ubiquitin system. This interaction was confirmed through coimmunoprecipitation experiments using heterologous cell lines and mouse brain. DAT and synaptogyrin-3 colocalized at presynaptic terminals from mouse striatum. Using fluorescence resonance energy transfer microscopy, we show that both proteins interact in live neurons. Pull-down assays with GST (glutathione S-transferase) proteins revealed that the cytoplasmic N termini of both DAT and synaptogyrin-3 are sufficient for this interaction. Furthermore, the N terminus of DAT is capable of binding purified synaptic vesicles from brain tissue. Functional assays revealed that synaptogyrin-3 expression correlated with DAT activity in PC12 and MN9D cells, but not in the non-neuronal HEK-293 cells. These changes were not attributed to changes in transporter cell surface levels or to direct effect of the protein-protein interaction. Instead, the synaptogyrin-3 effect on DAT activity was abolished in the presence of the vesicular monoamine transporter-2 (VMAT2) inhibitor reserpine, suggesting a dependence on the vesicular DA storage system. Finally, we provide evidence for a biochemical complex involving DAT, synaptogyrin-3, and VMAT2. Collectively, our data identify a novel interaction between DAT and synaptogyrin-3 and suggest a physical and functional link between DAT and the vesicular DA system.
    Journal of Neuroscience 05/2009; 29(14):4592-604. · 7.11 Impact Factor