CaMKII hunkers down on the muscarinic M4 receptor to help curb cocaine-induced hyperlocomotion

Selective breeding for high alcohol consumption and response to nicotine: locomotor activity, dopaminergic in the mesolimbic system, and innate genetic differences in male and female alcohol-preferring, non-preferring, and replicate lines of high-alcohol drinking and low-alcohol drinking rats

RATIONALE

There is evidence for a common genetic link between alcohol and nicotine dependence. Rodents selectively bred for high alcohol consumption/responsivity are also more likely to self-administer nicotine than controls.

OBJECTIVES

The experiments examined the response to systemic nicotine, the effects of nicotine within the drug reward pathway, and innate expression of nicotine-related genes in a brain region regulating drug reward/self-administration in multiple lines of rats selectively bred for high and low alcohol consumption.

METHODS

The experiments examined the effects of systemic administration of nicotine on locomotor activity, the effects of nicotine administered directly into the (posterior ventral tegmental area; pVTA) on dopamine (DA) release in the nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh), and innate mRNA levels of acetylcholine receptor genes in the pVTA were determined in 6 selectively bred high/low alcohol consuming and Wistar rat lines.

RESULTS

The high alcohol-consuming rat lines had greater nicotine-induced locomotor activity compared to low alcohol-consuming rat lines. Microinjections of nicotine into the pVTA resulted in DA release in the AcbSh with the dose response curves for high alcohol-consuming rats shifted leftward and upward. Genetic analysis of the pVTA indicated P rats expressed higher levels of α2 and β4.

CONCLUSION

Selective breeding for high alcohol preference resulted in a genetically divergent behavioral and neurobiological sensitivity to nicotine. The observed behavioral and neurochemical differences between the rat lines would predict an increased likelihood of nicotine reinforcement. The data support the hypothesis of a common genetic basis for drug addiction and identifies potential receptor targets.

Genetic inhibition of CaMKII in dorsal striatal medium spiny neurons reduces functional excitatory synapses and enhances intrinsic excitability

Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is abundant in striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). CaMKII is dynamically regulated by changes in dopamine signaling, as occurs in Parkinson's disease as well as addiction. Although CaMKII has been extensively studied in the hippocampus where it regulates excitatory synaptic transmission, relatively little is known about how it modulates neuronal function in the striatum. Therefore, we examined the impact of selectively overexpressing an EGFP-fused CaMKII inhibitory peptide (EAC3I) in striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) using a novel transgenic mouse model. EAC3I-expressing cells exhibited markedly decreased excitatory transmission, indicated by a decrease in the frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs). This decrease was not accompanied by changes in the probability of release, levels of glutamate at the synapse, or changes in dendritic spine density. CaMKII regulation of the AMPA receptor subunit GluA1 is a major means by which the kinase regulates neuronal function in the hippocampus. We found that the decrease in striatal excitatory transmission seen in the EAC3I mice is mimicked by deletion of GluA1. Further, while CaMKII inhibition decreased excitatory transmission onto MSNs, it increased their intrinsic excitability. These data suggest that CaMKII plays a critical role in setting the excitability rheostat of striatal MSNs by coordinating excitatory synaptic drive and the resulting depolarization response.