DNA Microarrays to Analyze Gene Expression in Animals with Altered Transporter Expression

Neurotransmitter transporters play a critical role in numerous biological functions. Disruption of transporter function can lead to perturbations in many of these physiological processes. An example of this is the plasma membrane dopamine transporter (DAT). Genetic deletion of this transporter leads to hyperactivity, learning deficits, altered responses to drugs of abuse, and alterations in the hypothalamic pituitary axis (1 –5 ). DAT may also participate in the etiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD) by increasing the cellular content of dopaminergic toxins (6 ). Although certain individuals may be genetically predisposed to PD, it seems likely that environmental factors are also a strong contributing factor to the disease. Our lab has been especially interested in the effects of environmental toxicants on DAT function (7 ). Because altered DAT function can have widespread effects on an organism, we decided to use DNA microarray technology to examine the expression of thousands of genes from the brains of animals treated with various pesticides known to alter transporter function.