Altered vesicular dopamine storage in Parkinson's disease: a premature demise

Dopamine is a potentially toxic neurotransmitter that has long been speculated to contribute to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent work has demonstrated the importance of proper storage of dopamine in vesicles to maintain dopamine homeostasis, thus protecting neurons from the detrimental effects of dopamine accumulation and breakdown in the cytosol. These studies suggest that factors which affect dopamine storage might increase the susceptibility of dopamine neurons to further environmental or genetic insults, exacerbating the neuronal degeneration that characterizes PD. This review seeks to revisit the pathogenicity of cytosolic dopamine and further address the critical role of neurotransmitter storage in dopamine-mediated neurotoxicity.