Effects of chronic methamphetamine administration on tryptophan hydroxylase activity, [3H]serotonin synaptosomal uptake, and serotonin metabolism in rat brain following systemic tryptophan loading.

Chronic administration of methamphetamine (20 mg/kg, i.p., every 12 hr for 6 days) produced significant decreases in the Vmax of brainstem (-32.8%) and forebrain (-31.5%) tryptophan hydroxylase when measured 12 hr after the final injection. Serotonin (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), and [3H]5-HT synaptosomal uptake were decreased by a similar magnitude following chronic drug treatment. Administration of fluoxetine prior to each methamphetamine injection prevented these neurochemical changes. Neither acute nor chronic methamphetamine treatment produced any significant changes in the Km of tryptophan hydroxylase for either substrate or cofactor. Systemic tryptophan loading (50 mg/kg, i.p.) one hour prior to sacrifice in chronic methamphetamine treated rats restored brain 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels to normal. These data suggest that chronic methamphetamine treatment decreases central serotonergic neurotransmission by reducing the activity of the rate-limiting enzyme in 5-HT biosynthesis, possibly by disrupting serotonergic nerve terminals.