Prefrontal cortex gates acute morphine action on dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area

Opioid modulation of prefrontal cortex cells and circuits

Several neurochemical systems converge in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) to regulate cognitive and motivated behaviors. A rich network of endogenous opioid peptides and receptors spans multiple PFC cell types and circuits, and this extensive opioid system has emerged as a key substrate underlying reward, motivation, affective behaviors, and adaptations to stress. Here, we review the current evidence for dysregulated cortical opioid signaling in the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders. We begin by providing an introduction to the basic anatomy and function of the cortical opioid system, followed by a discussion of endogenous and exogenous opioid modulation of PFC function at the behavioral, cellular, and synaptic level. Finally, we highlight the therapeutic potential of endogenous opioid targets in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, synthesizing clinical reports of altered opioid peptide and receptor expression and activity in human patients and summarizing new developments in opioid-based medications. This article is part of the Special Issue on "PFC circuit function in psychiatric disease and relevant models".

Prelimbic cortical pyramidal neurons to ventral tegmental area projections promotes arousal from sevoflurane anesthesia

AIMS

General anesthesia has been used in surgical procedures for approximately 180 years, yet the precise mechanism of anesthetic drugs remains elusive. There is significant anatomical connectivity between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the prelimbic cortex (PrL). Projections from VTA dopaminergic neurons (VTADA ) to the PrL play a role in the transition from sevoflurane anesthesia to arousal. It is still uncertain whether the prelimbic cortex pyramidal neuron (PrLPyr ) and its projections to VTA (PrLPyr -VTA) are involved in anesthesia-arousal regulation.

METHODS

We employed chemogenetics and optogenetics to selectively manipulate neuronal activity in the PrLPyr -VTA pathway. Electroencephalography spectra and burst-suppression ratios (BSR) were used to assess the depth of anesthesia. Furthermore, the loss or recovery of the righting reflex was monitored to indicate the induction or emergence time of general anesthesia. To elucidate the receptor mechanisms in the PrLPyr -VTA projection's impact on anesthesia and arousal, we microinjected NMDA receptor antagonists (MK-801) or AMPA receptor antagonists (NBQX) into the VTA.

RESULTS

Our findings show that chemogenetic or optogenetic activation of PrLPyr neurons prolonged anesthesia induction and promoted emergence. Additionally, chemogenetic activation of the PrLPyr -VTA neural pathway delayed anesthesia induction and promoted anesthesia emergence. Likewise, optogenetic activation of the PrLPyr -VTA projections extended the induction time and facilitated emergence from sevoflurane anesthesia. Moreover, antagonizing NMDA receptors in the VTA attenuates the delayed anesthesia induction and promotes emergence caused by activating the PrLPyr -VTA projections.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that PrLPyr neurons and their projections to the VTA are involved in facilitating emergence from sevoflurane anesthesia, with the PrLPyr -VTA pathway exerting its effects through the activation of NMDA receptors within the VTA.

Microinjection of a Dopamine-D1 Receptor Agonist into the Ventral Tegmental Area Reverses the Blocked Expression of Morphine Conditioned Place Preference by N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Antagonist

BACKGROUND

The release of dopamine (DA) in the posterior ventral tegmental area (pVTA) plays an important role in cue-related learning, reward, and relapse. On the other hand, studies have shown that the use of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist (AP5) inhibits the expression of morphine (5 mg/kg, s. c) conditioned place preference (CPP). In this study, we have tried to show the interaction effect of the DA stimulatory agents through D1-like receptor (D1R) agonist (SKF38393) and D2-like receptor (D2R) antagonist (eticlopride; through disinhibition) with NMDAR antagonist into the pVTA on the expression of morphine CPP.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The SKF38393 and eticlopride, individually and simultaneously (in ineffective doses), were injected into the pVTA with the AP5 in rats, and animals were then placed in a CPP apparatus.

RESULTS

Concomitant administration of D1R agonist (4 μg/rat) with NMDAR antagonist (1 μg/rat) induced the expression of morphine CPP, but the administration of D2R antagonist with NMDAR antagonist was unaffected on the expression of morphine CPP. Furthermore, concomitant administration of ineffective doses of D1R agonist and D2R antagonist with NMDAR antagonist had no effect on the expression of morphine CPP.

CONCLUSIONS

The results showed using higher doses of D1R agonist with NMDAR antagonist could reverse the blocked expression of morphine CPP by NMDAR antagonists, while, the use of D2R antagonist with NMDAR antagonist could not. Therefore, presynaptic receptors such as D1R probably through releasing other stimulatory neurotransmitters can play a vital role in the expression of morphine CPP and cue-related learning.

Morphine selectively disinhibits glutamatergic input from mPFC onto dopamine neurons of VTA, inducing reward

Ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) neurons presynaptic glutamate release plays a very important role in the mechanism of morphine. Previously, a study from our lab found that morphine disinhibited glutamatergic input onto the VTA-DA neurons, which was an important mechanism for the morphine-induced increase in the VTA-DA neuron firing and related behaviors (Chen et al., 2015). However, what source of glutamatergic inputs is disinhibited by morphine remains to be elucidated. Using optogenetic strategy combined with whole-cell patch-clamp, qRT-PCR, immunofluorescence and chemical genetic approach combined with behavioral methods, our results show that: 1) morphine promotes glutamate release from glutamatergic terminals of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons projecting to VTA-DA neurons but does not on those from glutamatergic terminals of the lateral hypothalamus (LH) neurons projecting to VTA-DA neurons; 2) different response of glutamatergic neurons projecting to VTA-DA neurons from the mPFC or the LH to morphine is related to the expression of GABA_B receptors at terminals of these neurons; 3) inhibition of projection neurons from the mPFC to the VTA significantly reduces morphine-induced locomotor activity increase and conditioned place preference but inhibition of projection neurons from the LH to the VTA does not. These results suggest that morphine selectively promotes glutamate release of the glutamatergic input from mPFC onto VTA-DA neurons by removing the inhibition of the GABA_B receptors in this glutamatergic input from mPFC.

Opioid signal transduction regulates the dendritic morphology of somatostatin and parvalbumin interneurons in the medial prefrontal cortex

The endogenous opioid system is of great importance to normal brain functions. Opiate acts on GABAergic cells in both the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens to exert psychological effects. However, the effects of opioid signal transduction on the morphology of GABAergic interneurons (INs) of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a brain region critical for motivational and addictive behaviors, are unclear. By fluorescent dye injection and morphological reconstruction, we found that the total dendrite length and dendritic complexity of both parvalbumin (PV) INs and somatostatin (SST) INs in mPFC were significantly increased after chronic morphine administration, and such changes lasted 7 days after morphine abstinence. We then downregulated the endogenous μ-opioid and δ-opioid receptors (ORs) in the mPFC by adeno-associated virus-mediated shRNA expression. Results showed that downregulating either μ-OR or δ-OR decreased the total dendrite length and dendritic complexity of SST-INs, whereas downregulating neither μ-OR nor δ-OR affected the morphology of PV-INs. Furthermore, δ-OR but not μ-OR knockdown impaired the dendritic structure of SST-INs in the mice upon single morphine administration. Our findings indicate the differential roles of endogenous ORs in the dendritic remodeling of SST-INs and PV-INs in mPFC.

Members of the same pharmacological family are not alike: Different opioids, different consequences, hope for the opioid crisis?

Pain management is the specialized medical practice of modulating pain perception and thus easing the suffering and improving the life quality of individuals suffering from painful conditions. Since this requires the modulation of the activity of endogenous systems involved in pain perception, and given the large role that the opioidergic system plays in pain perception, opioids are currently the most effective pain treatment available and are likely to remain relevant for the foreseeable future. This contributes to the rise in opioid use, misuse, and overdose death, which is currently characterized by public health officials in the United States as an epidemic. Historically, the majority of preclinical rodent studies were focused on morphine. This has resulted in our understanding of opioids in general being highly biased by our knowledge of morphine specifically. However, recent in vitro studies suggest that direct extrapolation of research findings from morphine to other opioids is likely to be flawed. Notably, these studies suggest that different opioid analgesics (opioid agonists) engage different downstream signaling effects within the cell, despite binding to and activating the same receptors. This recognition implies that, in contrast to the historical status quo, different opioids cannot be made equivalent by merely dose adjustment. Notably, even at equianalgesic doses, different opioids could result in different beneficial and risk outcomes. In order to foster further translational research regarding drug-specific differences among opioids, here we review basic research elucidating differences among opioids in pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, their capacity for second messenger pathway activation, and their interactions with the immune system and the dopamine D2 receptors.

Altered Activity of SK Channel Underpins Morphine Withdrawal Relevant Psychiatric Deficiency in Infralimbic to Accumbens Shell Pathway

Drug addiction can be viewed as a chronic psychiatric disorder that is related to dysfunction of neural circuits, including reward deficits, stress surfeits, craving changes, and compromised executive function. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays a crucial role in regulating craving and relapse, while the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) represents a higher cortex projecting into the NAc that is active in the management of executive function. In this study, we investigated the role of the small conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (SK channels) in NAc and mPFC after morphine withdrawal. Action potential (AP) firing of neurons in the NAc shell was enhanced via the downregulations of the SK channels after morphine withdrawal. Furthermore, the expression of SK2 and SK3 subunits in the NAc was significantly reduced after 3 weeks of morphine withdrawal, but was not altered in the dorsal striatum. In mPFC, the SK channel subunits were differentially expressed. To be specific, the expression of SK3 was upregulated, while the expression of SK2 was unchanged. Furthermore, the AP firing in layer 5 pyramidal neurons of the infralimbic (IL) cortex was decreased via the upregulations of the SK channel-related tail current after 3 weeks of morphine withdrawal. These results suggest that the SK channel plays a specific role in reward circuits following morphine exposure and a period of drug withdrawal, making it a potential target for the prevention of relapse.

Blockade of prelimbic glutamate receptor reduces the reinforcing effect of morphine

The prelimbic cortex (PrL) as a part of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a crucial role in drug addiction. Previous studies have shown that glutamatergic transmission through the NMDA and AMPA receptors plays an important role in morphine rewarding properties. In this study, we evaluated the effect of glutamate receptors blockade within the PrL on morphine self-administration. Male Wistar rats were randomly selected and divided into 7 groups. Trained rats were placed in self-administration apparatus, where they pressed an active lever for receiving morphine (5 mg/mL) in test groups and saline in saline group during 11 consecutive days for 2 h per session. The effects of intra-prelimbic AMPA receptor antagonist (CNQX; 0.5 and 2.5 μg/0.5 μL) and the NMDA antagonist (AP5; 0.1 and 1 μg/0.5 μL) on self-administration were tested. Our results demonstrated that intra-prelimbic injection of different doses of CNQX and AP5, and co-administration of these 2 drugs before self-administration significantly decreased active lever pressing compared with morphine group (p < 0.001). Also, the number of self-infusion significantly decreased in test groups compared with morphine group (p < 0.001). These findings suggest that a reduction in PrL glutamatergic output can modulate morphine reinforcement.

Endogenous Opiates and Behavior: 2016

This paper is the thirty-ninth consecutive installment of the annual review of research concerning the endogenous opioid system. It summarizes papers published during 2016 that studied the behavioral effects of molecular, pharmacological and genetic manipulation of opioid peptides, opioid receptors, opioid agonists and opioid antagonists. The particular topics that continue to be covered include the molecular-biochemical effects and neurochemical localization studies of endogenous opioids and their receptors related to behavior, and the roles of these opioid peptides and receptors in pain and analgesia, stress and social status, tolerance and dependence, learning and memory, eating and drinking, drug abuse and alcohol, sexual activity and hormones, pregnancy, development and endocrinology, mental illness and mood, seizures and neurologic disorders, electrical-related activity and neurophysiology, general activity and locomotion, gastrointestinal, renal and hepatic functions, cardiovascular responses, respiration and thermoregulation, and immunological responses.

Morphine-induced inhibition of Ca2+ -dependent d-serine release from astrocytes suppresses excitability of GABAergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays a critical role in addictive drug-induced behavioral changes. d-serine is present at high levels in the brain and is involved in the regulation of N-methyl-d-aspartate glutamate (NMDA)-dependent synaptic activity. In this study, we aimed to examine the involvement of d-serine in morphine addiction. Morphine decreased the NMDA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents and excitability of GABAergic neurons in the NAc, while exogenous d-serine alleviated the effects of morphine. Morphine reduced extracellular d-serine levels in rat NAc or in primary culture of astrocytes through inhibition of intracellular Ca²⁺ signals and blockade of d-serine release from cell vesicles. Morphine induced robust internalization of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate acid receptor (AMPAR) in primary cultured astrocytes. Moreover, administration of exogenous d-serine to rats inhibited the development of locomotor sensitization to morphine, attenuated the morphine-induced potentiation on conditioned place preference and suppressed the morphine-enhanced expression of p-CREB and ΔFosB in the NAc. Overall, our results showed that morphine inhibited d-serine release from astrocytes through modulation of AMPAR-mediated Ca²⁺ influx, and led to the inhibition of postsynaptic excitability of GABAergic neurons in the NAc. This work may provide a new insight into the underlying mechanisms of morphine addiction.

Dopamine D1 and D3 Receptors Modulate Heroin-Induced Cognitive Impairment through Opponent Actions in Mice

BACKGROUND

Chronic abuse of heroin leads to long-lasting and complicated cognitive impairment. Dopamine receptors are critically involved in the impulsive drug-driven behavior and the altered attention, processing speed, and mental flexibility that are associated with higher relapse rates. However, the effects of the different dopamine receptors and their possible involvement in heroin-induced cognitive impairment remain unclear.

METHODS

The 5-choice serial reaction time task was used to investigate the profiles of heroin-induced cognitive impairment in mice. The expression levels of dopamine D1- and D2-like receptors in the prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and caudate-putamen were determined. The effects of dopamine receptors on heroin-induced impulsivity in the 5-choice serial reaction time task were examined by agonist/antagonist treatment on D1 or D3 receptor mutant mice.

RESULTS

Systemic heroin administration influences several variables in the 5-choice serial reaction time task, most notably premature responses, a measure of motor impulsivity. These behavioral impairments are associated with increased D1 receptor and decreased D3 receptor mRNA and protein levels in 3 observed brain areas. The heroin-evoked increase in premature responses is mimicked by a D1 agonist and prevented by a D1 antagonist or genetic ablation of the D1 receptor gene. In contrast, a D3 agonist decreases both basal and heroin-evoked premature responses, while genetic ablation of the D3 receptor gene results in increased basal and heroin-evoked premature responses.

CONCLUSIONS

Heroin-induced impulsive behavior in the 5-choice serial reaction time task is oppositely modulated by D1 and D3 receptor activation. The D1 receptors in the cortical-mesolimbic region play an indispensable role in modulating such behaviors.

Reverse of Acute and Chronic Morphine Tolerance by Lithocholic Acid via Down-Regulating UGT2B7

Lithocholic acid (LCA) deposited in human livers always induces drastic pains which need analgesic drug, like morphine to release. Our research showed that LCA can effectively inhibit uridine 5’-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferase 2B7 (UGT2B7) in morphine tolerance-like human normal liver cells, HL-7702, then increase μ-opioid receptor (MOR) and calcium–calmodulin dependent protein kinase IIα (CaMKIIα) expression. In vivo assay, UGT2B7 was significantly repressed in the livers of acute or chronic morphine tolerance mice pretreated with LCA (10, 50, and 100 mg/kg, p.o.). To investigate the connections between LCA function performance and change of UGT2B7 enzymatic activity in mice livers, two morphine metabolites, morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G) and morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) were quantified by solid phase extraction (SPE)–HPLC–MS/MS. The result indicated no matter in acute or chronic morphine tolerance, the concentrations of M3G and M6G were all decreased, the later one fell even more. Besides that, 50 mg/kg of LCA administration can prevent auto-phosphorylation of CaMKIIα at Thr286 in acute or chronic morphine tolerance mice prefrontal cortexes (mPFCs) due to synthesis increase of cyclic adenosine monophosphate. As a consequence, UGT2B7 depression mediated by LCA can affect its selective catalysis ability to morphine, that may be responsible to acute or chronic morphine tolerance alleviation. These findings might assist to modify antinociception of morphine in clinic.

GSK-3β inhibitors reverse cocaine-induced synaptic transmission dysfunction in the nucleus accumbens

Nucleus accumbens receives glutamatergic projection from the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and dopaminergic input from the Ventral tegmental area (VTA). Recent studies have suggested a critical role for serine/threonine kinase glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) in cocaine-induced hyperactivity; however, the effect of GSK3β on the modulation of glutamatergic and dopaminergic afferents is unclear. In this study, we found that the GSK3 inhibitors, LiCl (100 mg/kg, i.p.) or SB216763 (2.5 mg/kg, i.p.), blocked the cocaine-induced hyperlocomotor activity in rats. By employing single-unit recordings in vivo, we found that pretreatment with either SB216763 or LiCl for 15 min reversed the cocaine-inhibited firing frequency of medium spiny neuron (MSN) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Preperfusion of SB216763 (5 μM) ameliorated the inhibitory effect of cocaine on both the α-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) (up to 99 ± 6.8% inhibition) and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR)-mediate EPSC (up to 73 ± 9.7% inhibition) in the NAc in brain slices. The effect of cocaine on AMPA and NMDA receptor-mediate excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) were mimicked by the D1 -like receptor agonist SKF 38393 and blocked by the D1 -like receptor antagonist SCH 23390, whereas D2 -like receptor agonist or antagonist failed to mimic or to block the action of cocaine. Preperfusion of SB216763 for 5 min also ameliorated the inhibitory effect of SKF38393 on both AMPA and NMDA receptor-mediated components of EPSC, indicate the effect of SB216763 on cocaine was via the D1 -like receptor. Moreover, cocaine inhibited the presynaptic release of glutamate in the NAc, and SB216763 reversed this effect. In conclusion, D1 receptor-GSK3β pathway, which mediates glutamatergic transmission in the NAc core through a presynaptic mechanism, plays an important role in acute cocaine-induced hyperlocomotion.