Nitric oxide and the neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine.

The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the long-term, amine-depleting effects of methamphetamine (METH) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) was investigated in the rodent central nervous system. The NO synthase inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) antagonized the dopamine- and serotonin-depleting effects of both METH and MDMA. The protective actions of L-NAME in METH-treated mice were reversed by prior administration of the NO generator isosorbide dinitrate. However, pretreatment with N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine or N(G)-nitro-L-arginine, two other NO synthase inhibitors, failed to block the neurotoxic effects of METH or MDMA. L-NAME was also the only NO synthase inhibitor that antagonized the hyperthermic effects of METH, reducing colonic temperatures in mice by a mean of 3 degrees C, in comparison with control. Moreover, if the hypothermic effects of L-NAME in METH-treated mice were prevented by raising the ambient room temperature, the dopamine-depleting actions of the stimulant were fully restored. The latter findings suggest that it is the hypothermic actions of L-NAME, rather than its NO inhibitory properties, that are responsible for the prevention of neurotoxicity. Together with the results of the N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine and N(G)-nitro-L-arginine experiments, the data suggest that NO plays little or no role in the toxic mechanism of action of METH or MDMA.