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Arluk S, Matar MA, Carmi L, Arbel O, Zohar J, Todder D, Cohen H. MDMA treatment paired with a trauma-cue promotes adaptive stress responses in a translational model of PTSD in rats. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:181. [PMID: 35504866 PMCID: PMC9064970 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-01952-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), a synthetic ring-substituted amphetamine, combined with psychotherapy has demonstrated efficacy for the treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients. This controlled prospective study aimed to assess the bio-behavioral underpinnings of MDMA in a translational model of PTSD. Rats exposed to predator-scent stress (PSS) were subjected to a trauma-cue at day 7 shortly after single-dose MDMA injection (5 mg/kg). The elevated plus maze and acoustic startle response tests were assessed on day 14 and served for classification into behavioral response groups. Freezing response to a further trauma-reminder was assessed on Day 15. The morphological characteristics of the dentate gyrus (DG) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) were subsequently examined. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and 5-hydroxytryptamine involvement were evaluated using: (1) corticosterone measurements at 2 h and 4 h after MDMA treatment, (2) Lewis strain rats with blunted HPA-response and (3) pharmacological receptor-blockade. MDMA treatment was effective in attenuating stress behavioral responses only when paired with memory reactivation by a trauma-cue. The effects of the treatment on behavior were associated with a commensurate normalization of the dendritic cytoarchitecture of DG and BLA neurons. Pretreatment with RU486, Ketanserin, or Pindolol prevented the above improvement in anxiety-like behavioral responses. MDMA treatment paired with memory reactivation reduced the prevalence rate of PTSD-phenotype 14 days later and normalized the cytoarchitecture changes induced by PSS (in dendritic complexities) compared to saline control. MDMA treatment paired with a trauma-cue may modify or update the original traumatic memory trace through reconsolidation processes. These anxiolytic-like effects seem to involve the HPA axis and 5-HT systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shira Arluk
- Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Michael A Matar
- Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center, Ministry of Health, Anxiety and Stress Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Lior Carmi
- Post-Trauma Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Oded Arbel
- Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center, The Mindfulness Clinic, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Joseph Zohar
- Post-Trauma Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Doron Todder
- Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center, Ministry of Health, Anxiety and Stress Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Hagit Cohen
- Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
- Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center, Ministry of Health, Anxiety and Stress Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
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Abuin-Martínez C, Vidal R, Gutiérrez-López MD, Pérez-Hernández M, Giménez-Gómez P, Morales-Puerto N, O'Shea E, Colado MI. Increased kynurenine concentration attenuates serotonergic neurotoxicity induced by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in rats through activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Neuropharmacology 2021; 187:108490. [PMID: 33607146 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is an amphetamine derivative that has been shown to produce serotonergic damage in the brains of primates, including humans, and of rats. Tryptophan, the precursor of serotonin, is primarily degraded through the kynurenine (KYN) pathway, producing among others KYN, the main metabolite of this route. KYN has been reported as an endogenous agonist of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a transcription factor involved in several neurological functions. This study aims to determine the effect of MDMA on the KYN pathway and on AhR activity and to establish their role in the long-term serotonergic neurotoxicity induced by the drug in rats. Our results show that MDMA induces the activation of the KYN pathway, mediated by hepatic tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO). MDMA also activated AhR as evidenced by increased AhR nuclear translocation and CYP1B1 mRNA expression. Autoradiographic quantification of serotonin transporters showed that both the TDO inhibitor 680C91 and the AhR antagonist CH-223191 potentiated the neurotoxicity induced by MDMA, while administration of exogenous l-kynurenine or of the AhR positive modulator 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM) partially prevented the serotonergic damage induced by the drug. The results demonstrate for the first time that MDMA increases KYN levels and AhR activity, and these changes appear to play a role in limiting the neurotoxicity induced by the drug. This work provides a better understanding of the physiological mechanisms that attenuate the brain damage induced by MDMA and identify modulation of the KYN pathway and of AhR as potential therapeutic strategies to limit the negative effects of MDMA.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Abuin-Martínez
- Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Pza. Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Neuroquímica (IUIN), Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - R Vidal
- Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Pza. Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Neuroquímica (IUIN), Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - M D Gutiérrez-López
- Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Pza. Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Neuroquímica (IUIN), Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - M Pérez-Hernández
- Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Pza. Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Neuroquímica (IUIN), Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - P Giménez-Gómez
- Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Pza. Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Neuroquímica (IUIN), Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - N Morales-Puerto
- Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Pza. Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Neuroquímica (IUIN), Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - E O'Shea
- Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Pza. Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Neuroquímica (IUIN), Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
| | - M I Colado
- Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Pza. Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Neuroquímica (IUIN), Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
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