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Boero G, McFarland MH, Tyler RE, O’Buckley TK, Chéry SL, Robinson DL, Besheer J, Morrow AL. Deleterious Interaction between the Neurosteroid (3α,5α)3-Hydroxypregnan-20-One (3α,5α-THP) and the Mu-Opioid System Activation during Forced Swim Stress in Rats. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1205. [PMID: 37627270 PMCID: PMC10452864 DOI: 10.3390/biom13081205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The neurosteroid 3α,5α-THP is a potent GABAA receptor-positive modulator and its regulatory action on the HPA axis stress response has been reported in numerous preclinical and clinical studies. We previously demonstrated that 3α,5α-THP down-regulation of HPA axis activity during stress is sex-, brain region- and stressor-dependent. In this study, we observed a deleterious submersion behavior in response to 3α,5α-THP (15 mg/kg) during forced swim stress (FSS) that led us to investigate how 3α,5α-THP might affect behavioral coping strategies engaged in by the animal. Given the well-established involvement of the opioid system in HPA axis activation and its interaction with GABAergic neurosteroids, we explored the synergic effects of 3α,5α-THP/opiate system activation in this behavior. Serum β-endorphin (β-EP) was elevated by FSS and enhanced by 3α,5α-THP + FSS. Hypothalamic Mu-opiate receptors (MOP) were increased in female rats by 3α,5α-THP + FSS. Pretreatment with the MOP antagonist D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Arg-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH2 (CTAP; 2 mg/kg, IP) reversed submersion behavior in males. Moreover, in both males and females, CTAP pretreatment decreased immobility episodes while increasing immobility duration but did not alter swimming duration. This interaction between 3α,5α-THP and the opioid system in the context of FSS might be important in the development of treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders involving HPA axis activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgia Boero
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3027 Thurston Bowles Bldg., CB 7178, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (G.B.)
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Minna H. McFarland
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3027 Thurston Bowles Bldg., CB 7178, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (G.B.)
| | - Ryan E. Tyler
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3027 Thurston Bowles Bldg., CB 7178, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (G.B.)
| | - Todd K. O’Buckley
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3027 Thurston Bowles Bldg., CB 7178, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (G.B.)
| | - Samantha L. Chéry
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3027 Thurston Bowles Bldg., CB 7178, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (G.B.)
| | - Donita L. Robinson
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3027 Thurston Bowles Bldg., CB 7178, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (G.B.)
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Joyce Besheer
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3027 Thurston Bowles Bldg., CB 7178, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (G.B.)
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - A. Leslie Morrow
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3027 Thurston Bowles Bldg., CB 7178, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (G.B.)
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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Karimi-Haghighi S, Chavoshinezhad S, Mozafari R, Noorbakhsh F, Borhani-Haghighi A, Haghparast A. Neuroinflammatory Response in Reward-Associated Psychostimulants and Opioids: A Review. Cell Mol Neurobiol 2023; 43:649-682. [PMID: 35461410 DOI: 10.1007/s10571-022-01223-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Substance abuse is one of the significant problems in social and public health worldwide. Vast numbers of evidence illustrate that motivational and reinforcing impacts of addictive drugs are primarily attributed to their ability to change dopamine signaling in the reward circuit. However, the roles of classic neurotransmitters, especially dopamine and neuromodulators, monoamines, and neuropeptides, in reinforcing characteristics of abused drugs have been extensively investigated. It has recently been revealed that central immune signaling includes cascades of chemokines and proinflammatory cytokines released by neurons and glia via downstream intracellular signaling pathways that play a crucial role in mediating rewarding behavioral effects of drugs. More interestingly, inflammatory responses in the central nervous system modulate the mesolimbic dopamine signaling and glutamate-dependent currents induced by addictive drugs. This review summarized researches in the alterations of inflammatory responses accompanied by rewarding and reinforcing properties of addictive drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioids that were evaluated by conditioned place preference and self-administration procedures as highly common behavioral tests to investigate the motivational and reinforcing impacts of addictive drugs. The neuroinflammatory responses affect the rewarding properties of psychostimulants and opioids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saeideh Karimi-Haghighi
- Clinical Neurology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.,Neuroscience Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box: 19615-1178, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sara Chavoshinezhad
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran
| | - Roghayeh Mozafari
- Neuroscience Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box: 19615-1178, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farshid Noorbakhsh
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Shefa Neuroscience Research Center, Khatam Alanbia Hospital, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Abbas Haghparast
- Neuroscience Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box: 19615-1178, Tehran, Iran.
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Milivojevic V, Charron L, Fogelman N, Hermes G, Sinha R. Pregnenolone Reduces Stress-Induced Craving, Anxiety, and Autonomic Arousal in Individuals with Cocaine Use Disorder. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12111593. [PMID: 36358943 PMCID: PMC9687893 DOI: 10.3390/biom12111593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic cocaine use leads to adaptations in stress biology and in neuroactive steroid system. These adaptations are associated with high cocaine craving and increased relapse risk. This study tested whether potentiation of the neuroactive steroid system with the precursor pregnenolone (PREG) affects stress- and cue-induced cocaine craving, anxiety and autonomic response in individuals with cocaine use disorder (CUD). Thirty treatment-seeking individuals (21 Male, 9 Female) with CUD were randomized to placebo (PBO) or supraphysiologic PREG doses of 300 mg or 500 mg per day for 8 weeks. After 2 weeks of treatment, participants were exposed to 5-min personalized guided imagery provocation of stress, cocaine, or neutral/relaxing cues in a 3-day experiment, one condition per day on separate days, in a random, counterbalanced order. Repeated assessment of cocaine craving, anxiety, heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were assessed on each day. PREG significantly increased pregnenolone levels compared to PBO. Both PREG doses decreased stress- and cocaine cue-induced craving and reduced both stress- and cue-induced anxiety only in the 500 mg/day group. The 500 mg/day PREG group also displayed decreased stress-induced HR, SBP and DBP. Findings indicate that pregnenolone decreases stress- and cocaine cue-provoked craving and anxiety and reduces stress-induced autonomic arousal in individuals with CUD.
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Sanchez WN, Pochapski JA, Jessen LF, Ellenberger M, Schwarting RK, Robinson DL, Andreatini R, Da Cunha C. Diazepam attenuates the effects of cocaine on locomotion, 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations and phasic dopamine in the nucleus accumbens of rats. Br J Pharmacol 2021; 179:1565-1577. [PMID: 34389975 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, there is no effective drug to treat cocaine-use disorder, which affects millions of people worldwide. Benzodiazepines are potential therapeutic candidates, as microdialysis and voltammetry studies have shown that they can decrease dopamine concentrations in the nucleus accumbens of rodents and block the increase in dopamine levels and appetitive 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) induced by amphetamine in rats. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Here, we tested whether administration of 2.5-mg·kg-1 diazepam (i.p.) in adult male rats could block the effects of 20-mg·kg-1 cocaine (i.p.) on electrically evoked phasic dopamine signals in the nucleus accumbens measured by fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, as well as 50-kHz USV and locomotor activity. KEY RESULTS Cocaine injection increased evoked dopamine signals up to threefold within 5 min, and the increase was significantly higher than baseline for at least 75 min. The injection of diazepam, 5 min after cocaine, attenuated the cocaine effect by nearly 50%, and this attenuation was maintained for at least 40 min. Behaviourally, cocaine increased the number of appetitive 50-kHz calls by about 12-fold. Diazepam significantly blocked this effect for the entire duration of the session. Also, cocaine-treated rats were more active than controls and diazepam significantly attenuated cocaine-induced locomotion, by up to 50%. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS These results suggest that the neurochemical and psychostimulant effects of cocaine can be mitigated by diazepam.
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Affiliation(s)
- William N Sanchez
- Laboratório de Fisiologia e Farmacologia do Sistema Nervoso Central, Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.,Department of Biochemistry, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Jose A Pochapski
- Laboratório de Fisiologia e Farmacologia do Sistema Nervoso Central, Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.,Department of Biochemistry, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Leticia F Jessen
- Laboratório de Fisiologia e Farmacologia do Sistema Nervoso Central, Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Marek Ellenberger
- Behavioral Neuroscience, Experimental and Biological Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Marburg Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (MCMBB), Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Rainer K Schwarting
- Behavioral Neuroscience, Experimental and Biological Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Marburg Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (MCMBB), Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Donita L Robinson
- Department of Psychiatry and Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Roberto Andreatini
- Laboratório de Fisiologia e Farmacologia do Sistema Nervoso Central, Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Claudio Da Cunha
- Laboratório de Fisiologia e Farmacologia do Sistema Nervoso Central, Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.,Department of Biochemistry, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
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Lack of effect of the combination of metyrapone and oxazepam on brain dopamine. Brain Res 2019; 1724:146435. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2019.146435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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6
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Milivojevic V, Covault J, Angarita GA, Siedlarz K, Sinha R. Neuroactive steroid levels and cocaine use chronicity in men and women with cocaine use disorder receiving progesterone or placebo. Am J Addict 2018; 28:16-21. [PMID: 30537098 DOI: 10.1111/ajad.12828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Revised: 10/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Neuroactive steroids (NAS) may play a role in addiction, with observed increases in response to acute stress and drug use, but decreases with chronic substance use, suggesting that NAS neuroadaptations may occur with chronic substance use. However, levels of NAS in addicted individuals have not been systematically examined. Here, we evaluated a panel of NAS in men and women with cocaine use disorder (CUD) who participated in a clinical laboratory study of progesterone. METHODS Forty six CUD individuals were enrolled in a randomized placebo-controlled laboratory study to evaluate progesterone effects on levels of various NAS. On day 5 of a 7-day inpatient treatment regimen of 400 mg/day progesterone (15M/8F) or placebo (14M/9F), plasma levels of NAS known to be downstream of progesterone (allopregnanolone, pregnanolone), and NAS not in the progesterone synthesis pathway (androstanediol, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA] and the NAS precursor, pregnenolone) were analyzed using highly sensitive gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The relationship between each of the NAS and chronicity of cocaine use was also assessed. RESULTS Progesterone versus placebo significantly increased the GABAergic NAS allopregnanolone and pregnanolone in both CUD men and women. Levels of pregnenolone, testosterone, its GABAergic metabolite androstanediol, and the non-GABAergic DHEA were unaffected by progesterone treatment, and testosterone and androstanediol levels were significantly higher in men than women. Importantly, lower pregnenolone and androstanediol levels were associated with greater years of cocaine use. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE GABAergic NAS that are upstream from the progesterone synthesis pathway appear susceptible to chronic effects of cocaine use. (Am J Addict 2019;28:16-21).
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Affiliation(s)
- Verica Milivojevic
- The Yale Stress Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jonathan Covault
- Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut
| | - Gustavo A Angarita
- Connecticut Mental Health Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Kristen Siedlarz
- Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut
| | - Rajita Sinha
- The Yale Stress Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
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Keller CM, Breaux KN, Goeders NE. Effects of the combination of metyrapone and oxazepam on cocaine-induced increases in corticosterone in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2017; 77:75-83. [PMID: 28024272 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2016] [Revised: 12/05/2016] [Accepted: 12/05/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
We have previously demonstrated that a combination of drugs (i.e., metyrapone and oxazepam) known to attenuate HPA-axis activity effectively decreases cocaine self-administration and cue reactivity in rats. However, we did not find changes in plasma corticosterone that matched the behavioral effects we observed, indicating that a different mechanism of action must be involved. Therefore, we hypothesized that the combination of metyrapone and oxazepam attenuates cocaine taking and seeking by decreasing cocaine-induced increases in corticosterone in the brain. Male rats were implanted with guide cannulae targeting the medial prefrontal cortex or nucleus accumbens. After the rats recovered from surgery, the microdialysis session was conducted. Rats were housed in the experimental chamber and the dialysis probes inserted into the guide cannulae the night before the session. The following day, dialysate samples were collected over a five-hour session. Baseline samples were collected for the first two hours, every 20min. Samples were then collected following administration of cocaine (15mg/kg, ip). Before injections of cocaine, rats were pretreated with either vehicle or the combination of metyrapone (50mg/kg, ip) and oxazepam (10mg/kg, ip). The administration of cocaine resulted in an increase in corticosterone in the medial prefrontal cortex following vehicle pretreatment, which was not observed in the nucleus accumbens. This cocaine-induced increase in corticosterone was attenuated by metyrapone/oxazepam. Reducing cocaine-induced increases in corticosterone in the medial prefrontal cortex might represent a novel mechanism through which the combination of metyrapone/oxazepam produces its behavioral effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney M Keller
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Neuroscience, LSU Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA 71130, United States.
| | - Kelly N Breaux
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Neuroscience, LSU Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA 71130, United States
| | - Nicholas E Goeders
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Neuroscience, LSU Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA 71130, United States
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Howland RH. Oxazepam for the Treatment of Substance Abuse and Depression: Is it Appropriate? J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv 2016; 54:21-4. [DOI: 10.3928/02793695-20160420-03] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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