Editing Vesicular monoamine transporter (section)

===Parkinson's disease===
Studies indicate VMAT2 mRNA is present in all cell groups damaged by Parkinson's disease (PD);<ref name="Miller GW 1999 PII">{{cite journal |vauthors=Miller GW, Gainetdinov RR, Levey AI, Caron MG | year = 1999 | title = Dopamine transporters and neuronal injury | journal = TiPS | volume = 20 | issue = 10 | page = 425 | doi = 10.1016/s0165-6147(99)01379-6 | pmid = 10498956 }}</ref> these findings have identified VMAT2 as a target for preventing Parkinson's. VMAT2 presence does not independently protect neurons from PD, but a decrease in VMAT2 expression has been shown to correlate with susceptibility to the disease,<ref name="Miller GW 1999 PII"/> which may be due to a ratio between the [[dopamine transporter]] and VMAT2.<ref name="Miller GW 1999 PII"/>

Based on the understanding the increased cytosolic dopamine levels lead to dopaminergic cell death in PD, it has been proposed that regulatory [[Polymorphism (biology)|polymorphisms]] in VMAT2 affect VMAT2 quantitative expression, and may serve as a genetic risk factor for PD. Specifically, the SLC18A2 [[Promoter (genetics)|promoter region]] for the VMAT2 gene has been identified as an area where several polymorphisms form discrete [[haplotype]]s.<ref name="Wimalasena, K. 2011"/><ref name="Glatt CE, Wahner AD, White DJ, Ruiz-Linares A, Ritz B 2006 299–305">{{cite journal |vauthors=Glatt CE, Wahner AD, White DJ, Ruiz-Linares A, Ritz B | year = 2006 | title = Gain-of-function haplotypes in the vesicular monoamine transporter promoter are protective for Parkinson disease in women | journal = Hum. Mol. Genet. | volume = 15 | issue = 2| pages = 299–305 | doi=10.1093/hmg/ddi445| pmid = 16339215 | pmc = 3643966 }}</ref>