{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T18:53:09Z","timestamp":1783536789592,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,23]],"date-time":"2023-08-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1692748800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000026","name":"National Institute on Drug Abuse","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["DA042156"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DA042156"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000026","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The dopamine transporter (DAT) is an integral member of the dopaminergic system and is responsible for the release and reuptake of dopamine from the synaptic space into the dopaminergic neurons. DAT is also the major target of amphetamine (Amph). The effects of Amph on DAT have been intensively studied; however, the mechanisms underlying the long-term effects caused by embryonal exposure to addictive doses of Amph remain largely unexplored. As in mammals, in the nematode C. elegans Amph causes changes in locomotion which are largely mediated by the C. elegans DAT homologue, DAT-1. Here, we show that chronic embryonic exposures to Amph alter the expression of DAT-1 in adult C. elegans via long-lasting epigenetic modifications. These changes are correlated with an enhanced behavioral response to Amph in adult animals. Importantly, pharmacological and genetic intervention directed at preventing the Amph-induced epigenetic modifications occurring during embryogenesis inhibited the long-lasting behavioral effects observed in adult animals. Because many components of the dopaminergic system, as well as epigenetic mechanisms, are highly conserved between C. elegans and mammals, these results could be critical for our understanding of how drugs of abuse initiate predisposition to addiction.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms241713092","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,23]],"date-time":"2023-08-23T07:25:24Z","timestamp":1692775524000},"page":"13092","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Long-Lasting Epigenetic Changes in the Dopamine Transporter in Adult Animals Exposed to Amphetamine during Embryogenesis: Investigating Behavioral Effects"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5805-3189","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tao","family":"Ke","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ganesh","family":"Ambigapathy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thanh","family":"Ton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Archana","family":"Dhasarathy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8754-3777","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lucia","family":"Carvelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA"},{"name":"Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA"},{"name":"Department of Biomedical Science, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3107","DOI":"10.1172\/JCI73778","article-title":"Missense dopamine transporter mutations associate with adult parkinsonism and ADHD","volume":"124","author":"Hansen","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Clin. 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