Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2014, Vol. 9 ›› Issue (11): 1110-1111.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.135310

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Methylation reactions at dopaminergic nerve endings, serving as biological off-switches in managing dopaminergic functions

Clivel G. Charlton   

  1. Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Meharry Medical College, 1005 DB Todd Blvd., Nashville, TN, USA
  • Received:2014-06-04 Online:2014-06-12 Published:2014-06-12
  • Contact: Clivel G. Charlton, Ph.D., Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Meharry Medical College, 1005 DB Todd Blvd., Nashville, TN 37208, USA, ccharlton@mmc.edu.
  • Supported by:

    NIH RO1 NS041674 and U54NS041071.

Abstract:

Synaptic dopamine (DA) controls complex and specialized functions including, movements, behavior, mood, perception, reward, and more recently, neurogenesisand neuroregeneration. The methylation of DA receptor protein is a stable phenomenon that may serve to progressively down-regulate DA synaptic activity, causing age-related decline in movements. Prof. Clivel G. Charlton , who comes from Meharry Medical College in USA ties this perspective together long-established findings, recent discoveries and a hypothesis to show that methylation, along with the standard release and uptake processes for DA, may help to explain the fidelity by which the functions that DA controls are regulated. Accepting the role of methylation in the synaptic activity of DA may lead to better ways of managing disorders related to DA synaptic functions. Moreover, the finding that DA depletion impairs precursor cell proliferation in PD corresponds with reports that DA promotes neurogenesis and neuroregeneration. The multiple-switch-concept in the regulation of DA synaptic functions is novel, requires further investigation.