A Caenorhabditis elegans p38 MAP kinase pathway mutant protects from dopamine, methamphetamine, and MDMA toxicity

Biogenic amine systems are damaged by amphetamine abuse and in Parkinson's disease. The mechanisms mediating this damage are of high importance because of the public health impact of these problems. Here we have taken advantage of the Caenorhabditis elegans nematode model system to investigate genetic modifiers of biogenic amine toxicity. In a forward genetic screen, we identified a mutant resistant to the toxic effects of dopamine. This mutant was also resistant to toxic doses of methamphetamine (MA) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). In addition, this mutation conferred resistance to 6-hydroxydopamine damage to dopaminergic neurons in a Parkinson's disease model. Resistance was due to a mutation in the nsy-1 gene, orthologous to the mammalian ASK-1 MAPKKK. NSY-1 is in the highly conserved p38 MAP kinase pathway, which plays a crucial role in C. elegans innate immunity, suggesting that this pathway may play a role in biogenic amine toxicity system damage due to amphetamines and in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease in higher organisms.