Figure 5.
Effects of ethanol, METH (2.5 mg/kg) and CA (5 mg/kg) on the expression of GLT-1 (A), xCT (B), GLAST (C), and mGluR2/3 (D) in the NAc shell. Quantitative analysis revealed a significant increase in the ratio of GLT-1/β-tubulin in METH-CA treated rats compared to the METH-Saline treated rats. A significant downregulation of GLT-1 expression was revealed in the METH-Saline and Saline-Saline (exposed to ethanol without METH) groups compared to the control water group. A significant increase in the ratio of xCT/β-tubulin was revealed in the METH-CA group compared to the Saline-Saline (exposed to ethanol without METH) group. Significant downregulation of xCT expression was revealed in Saline-Saline treated group compared to the control water group. A significant increase in the ratio of mGluR2/3/β-tubulin was revealed in METH-CA group compared to METH-Saline, Saline-Saline and control groups. No significant difference in GLAST expression was revealed among all tested groups in the NAc shell. * p<0.05. Values are shown as means ± S.E.M. n = 6–7 for each group.