Figure 3.

VTA-specific mTOR deletion decreased p-TH S40 protein expression in the VTA and decreased DAT protein expression in the NAc. (a) Representative western blots for p-TH (S40), total TH, and β-actin in VTA homogenates prepared from mTOR^wt/wt and mTOR^loxP/loxP mice after intra-VTA injection of AAV2-Cre-GFP. (b) Representative western blots for DAT and β-actin in NAc homogenates prepared from mTOR^wt/wt and mTOR^loxP/loxP mice after intra-VTA injection of AAV2-Cre-GFP. (c) Summarized data indicate that the protein expression of p-TH (S40) was significantly decreased in the VTA of mTOR^loxP/loxP mice compared with mTOR^wt/wt mice (*P<0.05). Total TH protein expression was not significantly altered (P>0.05). Therefore, the p-TH/TH ratio was significantly decreased in the VTA in mTOR^loxP/loxP mice (**P<0.01). VTA-specific deletion of mTOR significantly decreased DAT protein expression in the NAc compared with mTOR^wt/wt mice (**P<0.01, n=6 mice for each comparison). Immunoreactivity was normalized to β-actin and is presented as a percentage of that of mTOR^wt/wt mice.