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Rodrigues CHP, Mariotto LS, Castro JS, Peruquetti PH, Silva-Junior NC, Bruni AT. Acute, chronic, and post-mortem toxicity: a review focused on three different classes of new psychoactive substances. Forensic Toxicol 2023; 41:187-212. [PMID: 36604359 DOI: 10.1007/s11419-022-00657-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE New psychoactive substances (NPS) are not controlled under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 or the 1971 Convention, but they may pose a public health threat. Knowledge of the main properties and toxicological effects of these substances is lacking. According to the current Drugs Law (Law n. 11.343/2006), the Brazilian Surveillance Agency issues directives for forbidden substances in Brazil, and structural classes of synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, and phenylethylamines are considered illicit drugs. Considering that data on these controlled substances are scattered, the main objective of this work was to collect and organize data to generate relevant information on the toxicological properties of NPS. METHODS We carried out a literature review collecting information on the acute, chronic, and post-mortem toxicity of these classes of NSP. We searched info in five scientific databases considering works from 2017 to 2021 and performed a statistical evaluation of the data. RESULTS Results have shown a general lack of studies in this field given that many NPS have not had their toxicity evaluated. We observed a significant difference in the volume of data concerning acute and chronic/post-mortem toxicity. Moreover, studies on the adverse effects of polydrug use are scarce. CONCLUSIONS More in-depth information about the main threats involving NPS use are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caio H P Rodrigues
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
- INCT Forense - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Lívia S Mariotto
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
- INCT Forense - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Jade S Castro
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
- INCT Forense - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Paulo H Peruquetti
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Newton C Silva-Junior
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
- INCT Forense - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Aline T Bruni
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil.
- INCT Forense - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil.
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Nelson KH, Manke HN, Bailey JM, Vlachos A, Maradiaga KJ, Huang S, Weiss TD, Rice KC, Riley AL. Ethanol pre-exposure differentially impacts the rewarding and aversive effects of α-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (α-PVP): Implications for drug use and abuse. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2021; 211:173286. [PMID: 34634300 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2021.173286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Exposure to a drug can subsequently impact its own reactivity as well as that of other drugs. Given that users of synthetic cathinones, i.e., "bath salts", typically have extensive and varied drug histories, an understanding of the effects of drug history on the behavioral and physiological consequences of synthetic cathiones may be important to their abuse liability. OBJECTIVES The goal of the current work was to assess the effects of an ethanol pre-exposure on the rewarding and aversive effects of α-PVP. METHODS Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to ethanol prior to combined conditioned taste avoidance/conditioned place preference training in which rats were injected with 1.5, 3 or 5 mg/kg of racemic α-PVP or vehicle. Following a 7-day washout period, rats were then tested for thermoregulatory effects of α-PVP using subcutaneous probes to measure body temperature changes over the course of 8 h. This was followed 10 days later by assessments for α-PVP-induced locomotor activity and stereotypies over a 1-h session. RESULTS α-PVP induced significant dose- and trial-dependent taste avoidance that was significantly attenuated by ethanol history and dose- and time-dependent increases in locomotor activity that were significantly increased by ethanol. α-PVP also induced place preferences and dose- and time-dependent increases in body temperature, but these measures were unaffected by ethanol history. CONCLUSIONS α-PVP's aversive effects (as measured by taste avoidance) were attenuated, while its rewarding effects (as indexed by place preference conditioning) were unaffected, by ethanol pre-exposure. Such a pattern may indicate increased α-PVP abuse liability, as changes in the balance of aversion and reward may impact overall drug effects and likelihood of drug intake. Future self-administration studies will be necessary to explore this possibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharine H Nelson
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D. C. 20016, USA.
| | - Hayley N Manke
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D. C. 20016, USA
| | - Jacob M Bailey
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D. C. 20016, USA
| | - Anna Vlachos
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D. C. 20016, USA
| | - Karina J Maradiaga
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D. C. 20016, USA
| | - Shihui Huang
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D. C. 20016, USA
| | - Tania D Weiss
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D. C. 20016, USA
| | - Kenner C Rice
- Drug Design and Synthesis Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Anthony L Riley
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D. C. 20016, USA.
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Soares J, Costa VM, Bastos MDL, Carvalho F, Capela JP. An updated review on synthetic cathinones. Arch Toxicol 2021; 95:2895-2940. [PMID: 34100120 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-021-03083-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Cathinone, the main psychoactive compound found in the plant Catha edulis Forsk. (khat), is a β-keto analogue of amphetamine, sharing not only the phenethylamine structure, but also the amphetamine-like stimulant effects. Synthetic cathinones are derivatives of the naturally occurring cathinone that largely entered the recreational drug market at the end of 2000s. The former "legal status", impressive marketing strategies and their commercial availability, either in the so-called "smartshops" or via the Internet, prompted their large spread, contributing to their increasing popularity in the following years. As their popularity increased, the risks posed for public health became clear, with several reports of intoxications and deaths involving these substances appearing both in the social media and scientific literature. The regulatory measures introduced thereafter to halt these trending drugs of abuse have proved to be of low impact, as a continuous emergence of new non-controlled derivatives keep appearing to replace those prohibited. Users resort to synthetic cathinones due to their psychostimulant properties but are often unaware of the dangers they may incur when using these substances. Therefore, studies aimed at unveiling the pharmacological and toxicological properties of these substances are imperative, as they will provide increased expertise to the clinicians that face this problem on a daily basis. The present work provides a comprehensive review on history and legal status, chemistry, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, adverse effects and lethality in humans, as well as on the current knowledge of the neurotoxic mechanisms of synthetic cathinones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Soares
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
| | - Vera Marisa Costa
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria de Lourdes Bastos
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Félix Carvalho
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - João Paulo Capela
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
- FP-ENAS (Fernando Pessoa Energy, Environment and Health Research Unit), CEBIMED (Biomedical Research Centre), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal.
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Davies RA, Baird TR, Nguyen VT, Ruiz B, Sakloth F, Eltit JM, Negus SS, Glennon RA. Investigation of the Optical Isomers of Methcathinone, and Two Achiral Analogs, at Monoamine Transporters and in Intracranial Self-Stimulation Studies in Rats. ACS Chem Neurosci 2020; 11:1762-1769. [PMID: 32356961 PMCID: PMC10019599 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.9b00617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Methcathinone (MCAT; 1), the progenitor of numerous and widely abused "synthetic cathinone" central stimulants, exists as a pair of optical isomers. Although S(-)MCAT is several-fold more potent than R(+)MCAT in rodent locomotor stimulation and in stimulus generalization studies in rat drug discrimination assays, the individual optical isomers of MCAT have never been directly compared for their actions at monoamine transporters that seem to underlie their actions and have never been examined for their relative abuse potential. Here, we found that the isomers of MCAT are nearly equieffective at dopamine and norepinephrine transporters (DAT and NET, respectively) as transporter substrates (i.e., as releasing agents) and are ≥63-fold less potent at the serotonin transporter (SERT). In intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) studies to evaluate abuse-related drug effects in rats, S(-)MCAT was approximately twice as potent as its R-enantiomer. Achiral analogs, α-methyl MCAT (3) and α-des-methyl MCAT (4), also were DAT/NET substrates and also produced abuse-related ICSS effects, indicating that they retain abuse potential and that they might be useful for the further study of the stereochemistry of synthetic cathinone analogs with chiral β- (or other) substituents.
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Soares J, Costa VM, Gaspar H, Santos S, Bastos MDL, Carvalho F, Capela JP. Adverse outcome pathways induced by 3,4-dimethylmethcathinone and 4-methylmethcathinone in differentiated human SH-SY5Y neuronal cells. Arch Toxicol 2020; 94:2481-2503. [PMID: 32382956 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-020-02761-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Cathinones (β-keto amphetamines), widely abused in recreational settings, have been shown similar or even worse toxicological profile than classical amphetamines. In the present study, the cytotoxicity of two β-keto amphetamines [3,4-dimethylmethcathinone (3,4-DMMC) and 4-methylmethcathinone (4-MMC)], was evaluated in differentiated dopaminergic SH-SY5Y cells in comparison to methamphetamine (METH). MTT reduction and NR uptake assays revealed that both cathinones and METH induced cytotoxicity in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Pre-treatment with trolox (antioxidant) partially prevented the cytotoxicity induced by all tested drugs, while N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC; antioxidant and glutathione precursor) and GBR 12909 (dopamine transporter inhibitor) partially prevented the cytotoxicity induced by cathinones, as evaluated by the MTT reduction assay. Unlike METH, cathinones induced oxidative stress evidenced by the increase on intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and also by the decrease of intracellular glutathione levels. Trolox prevented, partially but significantly, the ROS generation elicited by cathinones, while NAC inhibited it completely. All tested drugs induced mitochondrial dysfunction, since they led to mitochondrial membrane depolarization and to intracellular ATP depletion. Activation of caspase-3, indicative of apoptosis, was seen both for cathinones and METH, and confirmed by annexin V and propidium iodide positive staining. Autophagy was also activated by all drugs tested. Pre-incubation with bafilomycin A1, an inhibitor of the vacuolar H+-ATPase, only protected against the cytotoxicity induced by METH, which indicates dissimilar toxicological pathways for the tested drugs. In conclusion, the mitochondrial impairment and oxidative stress observed for the tested cathinones may be key factors for their neurotoxicity, but different outcome pathways seem to be involved in the adverse effects, when compared to METH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Soares
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
| | - Vera Marisa Costa
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Helena Gaspar
- BioISI - Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Polytechnic of Leiria, Peniche, Portugal
| | - Susana Santos
- Centro de Química Estrutural, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Maria de Lourdes Bastos
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Félix Carvalho
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - João Paulo Capela
- UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
- FP-ENAS (Fernando Pessoa Energy, Environment and Health Research Unit), CEBIMED (Biomedical Research Centre), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal.
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