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Matsumura K, Nicot A, Choi IB, Asokan M, Le NN, Natividad LA, Dobbs LK. Endogenous opioid system modulates conditioned cocaine reward in a sex-dependent manner. Addict Biol 2023; 28:e13328. [PMID: 37753570 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13328] [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: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
Cocaine predictive cues and contexts exert powerful control over behaviour and can incite cocaine seeking and taking. This type of conditioned behaviour is encoded within striatal circuits, and these circuits and behaviours are, in part, regulated by opioid peptides and receptors expressed in striatal medium spiny neurons. We previously showed that augmenting levels of the opioid peptide enkephalin in the striatum facilitates acquisition of cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP), while opioid receptor antagonists attenuate expression of cocaine CPP. However, whether striatal enkephalin is necessary for acquisition of cocaine CPP and maintenance during extinction remains unknown. To address this, we generated mice with a targeted deletion of enkephalin from dopamine D2-receptor expressing medium spiny neurons and tested them in a cocaine CPP paradigm. Low striatal enkephalin levels did not attenuate acquisition of CPP. However, expression of preference, assessed after acute administration of the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone, was blocked in females, regardless of genotype. When saline was paired with the cocaine context during extinction sessions, females, regardless of genotype, extinguished preference faster than males, and this was prevented by naloxone when paired with the cocaine context. We conclude that while striatal enkephalin is not necessary for acquisition, expression, or extinction of cocaine CPP, expression and extinction of cocaine preference in females is mediated by an opioid peptide other than striatal enkephalin. The unique sensitivity of females to opioid antagonists suggests sex should be a consideration when using these compounds in the treatment of cocaine use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanako Matsumura
- Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
- Waggoner Center for Alcohol & Addiction Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Amélia Nicot
- Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - In Bae Choi
- Department of Neurology, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Meera Asokan
- College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Nathan N Le
- College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Luis A Natividad
- Waggoner Center for Alcohol & Addiction Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
- College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Lauren K Dobbs
- Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
- Waggoner Center for Alcohol & Addiction Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
- Department of Neurology, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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2
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Matsumura K, Choi IB, Asokan M, Le NN, Natividad L, Dobbs LK. Striatal enkephalin supports maintenance of conditioned cocaine reward during extinction. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.23.529807. [PMID: 36865224 PMCID: PMC9980085 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.23.529807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
Drug predictive cues and contexts exert powerful control over behavior and can incite drug seeking and taking. This association and the behavioral output are encoded within striatal circuits, and regulation of these circuits by G-protein coupled receptors affects cocaine-related behaviors. Here, we investigated how opioid peptides and G-protein coupled opioid receptors expressed in striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) regulate conditioned cocaine seeking. Augmenting levels of the opioid peptide enkephalin in the striatum facilitates acquisition of cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP). In contrast, opioid receptor antagonists attenuate cocaine CPP and facilitate extinction of alcohol CPP. However, whether striatal enkephalin is necessary for acquisition of cocaine CPP and maintenance during extinction remains unknown. We generated mice with a targeted deletion of enkephalin from dopamine D2-receptor expressing MSNs (D2-PenkKO) and tested them for cocaine CPP. Low striatal enkephalin levels did not attenuate acquisition or expression of CPP; however, D2-PenkKOs showed faster extinction of cocaine CPP. Single administration of the non-selective opioid receptor antagonist naloxone prior to preference testing blocked expression of CPP selectively in females, but equally between genotypes. Repeated administration of naloxone during extinction did not facilitate extinction of cocaine CPP for either genotype, but rather prevented extinction in D2-PenkKO mice. We conclude that while striatal enkephalin is not necessary for acquisition of cocaine reward, it maintains the learned association between cocaine and its predictive cues during extinction learning. Further, sex and pre-existing low striatal enkephalin levels may be important considerations for use of naloxone in treating cocaine use disorder.
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3
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Dai KZ, Choi IB, Levitt R, Blegen MB, Kaplan AR, Matsui A, Shin JH, Bocarsly ME, Simpson EH, Kellendonk C, Alvarez VA, Dobbs LK. Dopamine D2 receptors bidirectionally regulate striatal enkephalin expression: Implications for cocaine reward. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111440. [PMID: 36170833 PMCID: PMC9620395 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Low dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) availability in the striatum can predispose for cocaine abuse; though how low striatal D2Rs facilitate cocaine reward is unclear. Overexpression of D2Rs in striatal neurons or activation of D2Rs by acute cocaine suppresses striatal Penk mRNA. Conversely, low D2Rs in D2-striatal neurons increases striatal Penk mRNA and enkephalin peptide tone, an endogenous mu-opioid agonist. In brain slices, met-enkephalin and inhibition of enkephalin catabolism suppresses intra-striatal GABA transmission. Pairing cocaine with intra-accumbens met-enkephalin during place conditioning facilitates acquisition of preference, while mu-opioid receptor antagonist blocks preference in wild-type mice. We propose that heightened striatal enkephalin potentiates cocaine reward by suppressing intra-striatal GABA to enhance striatal output. Surprisingly, a mu-opioid receptor antagonist does not block cocaine preference in mice with low striatal D2Rs, implicating other opioid receptors. The bidirectional regulation of enkephalin by D2R activity and cocaine offers insights into mechanisms underlying the vulnerability for cocaine abuse. Low striatal D2 receptor levels are associated with cocaine abuse. Dai et al. bidirectionally alter striatal D2 receptor levels to probe the downstream mechanisms underlying this abuse liability. They provide evidence that enhanced enkephalin tone resulting from low D2 receptors is associated with suppressed intra-striatal GABA and potentiated cocaine reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathy Z Dai
- Laboratory on Neurobiology of Compulsive Behaviors, NIAAA, IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - In Bae Choi
- Department of Neurology, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Ryan Levitt
- Department of Neurology, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Mariah B Blegen
- Laboratory on Neurobiology of Compulsive Behaviors, NIAAA, IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Alanna R Kaplan
- Laboratory on Neurobiology of Compulsive Behaviors, NIAAA, IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Aya Matsui
- Laboratory on Neurobiology of Compulsive Behaviors, NIAAA, IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - J Hoon Shin
- Laboratory on Neurobiology of Compulsive Behaviors, NIAAA, IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Miriam E Bocarsly
- Laboratory on Neurobiology of Compulsive Behaviors, NIAAA, IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers Brain Health Institute, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Eleanor H Simpson
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Division of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Christoph Kellendonk
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Division of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Veronica A Alvarez
- Laboratory on Neurobiology of Compulsive Behaviors, NIAAA, IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA; Center on Compulsive Behaviors, IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Lauren K Dobbs
- Department of Neurology, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
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Rysztak LG, Jutkiewicz EM. The role of enkephalinergic systems in substance use disorders. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:932546. [PMID: 35993087 PMCID: PMC9391026 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.932546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Enkephalin, an endogenous opioid peptide, is highly expressed in the reward pathway and may modulate neurotransmission to regulate reward-related behaviors, such as drug-taking and drug-seeking behaviors. Drugs of abuse also directly increase enkephalin in this pathway, yet it is unknown whether or not changes in the enkephalinergic system after drug administration mediate any specific behaviors. The use of animal models of substance use disorders (SUDs) concurrently with pharmacological, genetic, and molecular tools has allowed researchers to directly investigate the role of enkephalin in promoting these behaviors. In this review, we explore neurochemical mechanisms by which enkephalin levels and enkephalin-mediated signaling are altered by drug administration and interrogate the contribution of enkephalin systems to SUDs. Studies manipulating the receptors that enkephalin targets (e.g., mu and delta opioid receptors mainly) implicate the endogenous opioid peptide in drug-induced neuroadaptations and reward-related behaviors; however, further studies will need to confirm the role of enkephalin directly. Overall, these findings suggest that the enkephalinergic system is involved in multiple aspects of SUDs, such as the primary reinforcing properties of drugs, conditioned reinforcing effects, and sensitization. The idea of dopaminergic-opioidergic interactions in these behaviors remains relatively novel and warrants further research. Continuing work to elucidate the role of enkephalin in mediating neurotransmission in reward circuitry driving behaviors related to SUDs remains crucial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren G. Rysztak
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Emily M. Jutkiewicz
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- *Correspondence: Emily M. Jutkiewicz,
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Assis MA, Carranza PG, Ambrosio E. A "Drug-Dependent" Immune System Can Compromise Protection against Infection: The Relationships between Psychostimulants and HIV. Viruses 2021; 13:v13050722. [PMID: 33919273 PMCID: PMC8143316 DOI: 10.3390/v13050722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 04/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychostimulant use is a major comorbidity in people living with HIV, which was initially explained by them adopting risky behaviors that facilitate HIV transmission. However, the effects of drug use on the immune system might also influence this phenomenon. Psychostimulants act on peripheral immune cells even before they reach the central nervous system (CNS) and their effects on immunity are likely to influence HIV infection. Beyond their canonical activities, classic neurotransmitters and neuromodulators are expressed by peripheral immune cells (e.g., dopamine and enkephalins), which display immunomodulatory properties and could be influenced by psychostimulants. Immune receptors, like Toll-like receptors (TLRs) on microglia, are modulated by cocaine and amphetamine exposure. Since peripheral immunocytes also express TLRs, they may be similarly affected by psychostimulants. In this review, we will summarize how psychostimulants are currently thought to influence peripheral immunity, mainly focusing on catecholamines, enkephalins and TLR4, and shed light on how these drugs might affect HIV infection. We will try to shift from the classic CNS perspective and adopt a more holistic view, addressing the potential impact of psychostimulants on the peripheral immune system and how their systemic effects could influence HIV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Amparo Assis
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero (UNSE), Santiago del Estero G4200, Argentina;
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, Inmunología y Microbiología, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Salud, Tecnología y Desarrollo (IMSaTeD), CONICET-UNSE, Santiago del Estero G4206, Argentina
- Departamento de Psicobiología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain;
- Correspondence:
| | - Pedro Gabriel Carranza
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero (UNSE), Santiago del Estero G4200, Argentina;
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, Inmunología y Microbiología, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Salud, Tecnología y Desarrollo (IMSaTeD), CONICET-UNSE, Santiago del Estero G4206, Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía y Agroindustrias, Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero, Santiago del Estero G4206, Argentina
| | - Emilio Ambrosio
- Departamento de Psicobiología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain;
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Borroto-Escuela DO, Wydra K, Fores-Pons R, Vasudevan L, Romero-Fernandez W, Frankowska M, Ferraro L, Beggiato S, Crespo-Ramirez M, Rivera A, Rocha LL, Perez de la Mora M, Stove C, Filip M, Fuxe K. The Balance of MU-Opioid, Dopamine D2 and Adenosine A2A Heteroreceptor Complexes in the Ventral Striatal-Pallidal GABA Antireward Neurons May Have a Significant Role in Morphine and Cocaine Use Disorders. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:627032. [PMID: 33790790 PMCID: PMC8005530 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.627032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The widespread distribution of heteroreceptor complexes with allosteric receptor-receptor interactions in the CNS represents a novel integrative molecular mechanism in the plasma membrane of neurons and glial cells. It was proposed that they form the molecular basis for learning and short-and long-term memories. This is also true for drug memories formed during the development of substance use disorders like morphine and cocaine use disorders. In cocaine use disorder it was found that irreversible A2AR-D2R complexes with an allosteric brake on D2R recognition and signaling are formed in increased densities in the ventral enkephalin positive striatal-pallidal GABA antireward neurons. In this perspective article we discuss and propose how an increase in opioid heteroreceptor complexes, containing MOR-DOR, MOR-MOR and MOR-D2R, and their balance with each other and A2AR-D2R complexes in the striatal-pallidal enkephalin positive GABA antireward neurons, may represent markers for development of morphine use disorders. We suggest that increased formation of MOR-DOR complexes takes place in the striatal-pallidal enkephalin positive GABA antireward neurons after chronic morphine treatment in part through recruitment of MOR from the MOR-D2R complexes due to the possibility that MOR upon morphine treatment can develop a higher affinity for DOR. As a result, increased numbers of D2R monomers/homomers in these neurons become free to interact with the A2A receptors found in high densities within such neurons. Increased numbers of A2AR-D2R heteroreceptor complexes are formed and contribute to enhanced firing of these antireward neurons due to loss of inhibitory D2R protomer signaling which finally leads to the development of morphine use disorder. Development of cocaine use disorder may instead be reduced through enkephalin induced activation of the MOR-DOR complex inhibiting the activity of the enkephalin positive GABA antireward neurons. Altogether, we propose that these altered complexes could be pharmacological targets to modulate the reward and the development of substance use disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Karolina Wydra
- Department of Drug Addiction Pharmacology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Ramon Fores-Pons
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Biomedicum, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lakshmi Vasudevan
- Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Bioanalysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Małgorzata Frankowska
- Department of Drug Addiction Pharmacology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Luca Ferraro
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Sarah Beggiato
- Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Minerva Crespo-Ramirez
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Alicia Rivera
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Malaga, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica (IBIMA), Malaga, Spain
| | - Luisa L Rocha
- Pharmacobiology Department, Center for Research and Advanced Studies, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Miguel Perez de la Mora
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Christophe Stove
- Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Bioanalysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Małgorzata Filip
- Department of Drug Addiction Pharmacology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Kjell Fuxe
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Biomedicum, Stockholm, Sweden
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Solís O, García‐Sanz P, Martín AB, Granado N, Sanz‐Magro A, Podlesniy P, Trullas R, Murer MG, Maldonado R, Moratalla R. Behavioral sensitization and cellular responses to psychostimulants are reduced in D2R knockout mice. Addict Biol 2021; 26:e12840. [PMID: 31833146 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Revised: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Repeated cocaine exposure causes long-lasting neuroadaptations that involve alterations in cellular signaling and gene expression mediated by dopamine in different brain regions, such as the striatum. Previous studies have pointed out to the dopamine D1 receptor as one major player in psychostimulants-induced behavioral, cellular, and molecular changes. However, the role of other dopamine receptors has not been fully characterized. Here we used dopamine D2 receptor knockout (D2-/- ) mice to explore the role of D2 receptor (D2R) in behavioral sensitization and its associated gene expression after acute and chronic cocaine and amphetamine administration. We also studied the impact of D2R elimination in D1R-mediated responses. We found that cocaine- and amphetamine-induced behavioral sensitization is deficient in D2-/- mice. The expression of dynorphin, primarily regulated by D1R and a marker of direct-pathway striatal neurons, is attenuated in naïve- and in cocaine- or amphetamine-treated D2-/- mice. Moreover, c-Fos expression observed in D2-/- mice was reduced in acutely but not in chronically treated animals. Interestingly, inactivation of D2R increased c-Fos expression in neurons of the striatopallidal pathway. Finally, elimination of D2R blunted the locomotor and striatal c-Fos response to the full D1 agonist SKF81297. In conclusion, D2R is critical for the development of behavioral sensitization and the associated gene expression, after cocaine administration, and it is required for the locomotor responses promoted by D1R activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar Solís
- Instituto Cajal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid Spain
- CIBERNED Instituto de Salud Carlos III Madrid Spain
| | - Patricia García‐Sanz
- Instituto Cajal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid Spain
- CIBERNED Instituto de Salud Carlos III Madrid Spain
| | - Ana B. Martín
- Instituto Cajal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid Spain
| | - Noelia Granado
- Instituto Cajal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid Spain
- CIBERNED Instituto de Salud Carlos III Madrid Spain
| | - Adrián Sanz‐Magro
- Instituto Cajal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid Spain
- CIBERNED Instituto de Salud Carlos III Madrid Spain
| | | | | | - M. Gustavo Murer
- Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica (IFIBIO) Houssay CONICET ‐ Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Rafael Maldonado
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona Spain
| | - Rosario Moratalla
- Instituto Cajal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid Spain
- CIBERNED Instituto de Salud Carlos III Madrid Spain
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Mongi-Bragato B, Avalos MP, Guzmán AS, García-Keller C, Bollati FA, Cancela LM. Endogenous enkephalin is necessary for cocaine-induced alteration in glutamate transmission within the nucleus accumbens. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 53:1441-1449. [PMID: 33159343 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Altered glutamate transmission within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) has been proposed as a central mechanism underlying behavioural sensitisation associated with repeated cocaine exposure. In addition to glutamate, enkephalin, an endogenous opioid peptide derived from proenkephalin, is necessary for the neuroadaptations associated with chronic cocaine. However, the influence of enkephalin on long-term changes in glutamate transmission within the NAc associated with cocaine-induced sensitisation has not been described. This study used knockout proenkephalin mice (KO) to study the influence of endogenous enkephalin on the adaptations in glutamate neurotransmission associated with repeated cocaine treatment. Wild-type (WT) and KO mice were treated with daily cocaine injections for 9 days to induce sensitisation. On days 15 and 21, the animals received a cocaine challenge and locomotor sensitisation was evaluated, and microdialysis was performed to determine accumbens glutamate content on day 21. No expression of behavioural sensitisation to cocaine was evidenced in the KO mice. Consistently, these showed no changes in glutamate transmission in the NAc associated with repeated cocaine. This study reveals the central role of enkephalin in regulating the glutamate mechanisms associated with cocaine sensitisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bethania Mongi-Bragato
- Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - María Paula Avalos
- Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Andrea S Guzmán
- Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Constanza García-Keller
- Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.,Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Flavia A Bollati
- Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Liliana M Cancela
- Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
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9
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Genders SG, Scheller KJ, Djouma E. Neuropeptide modulation of addiction: Focus on galanin. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 110:133-149. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Revised: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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10
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Duque-Díaz E, Alvarez-Ojeda O, Coveñas R. Enkephalins and ACTH in the mammalian nervous system. VITAMINS AND HORMONES 2019; 111:147-193. [PMID: 31421699 DOI: 10.1016/bs.vh.2019.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The pentapeptides methionine-enkephalin and leucine-enkephalin belong to the opioid family of peptides, and the non-opiate peptide adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) to the melanocortin peptide family. Enkephalins/ACTH are derived from pro-enkephalin, pro-dynorphin or pro-opiomelanocortin precursors and, via opioid and melanocortin receptors, are responsible for many biological activities. Enkephalins exhibit the highest affinity for the δ receptor, followed by the μ and κ receptors, whereas ACTH binds to the five subtypes of melanocortin receptor, and is the only member of the melanocortin family of peptides that binds to the melanocortin-receptor 2 (ACTH receptor). Enkephalins/ACTH and their receptors exhibit a widespread anatomical distribution. Enkephalins are involved in analgesia, angiogenesis, blood pressure, embryonic development, emotional behavior, feeding, hypoxia, limbic system modulation, neuroprotection, peristalsis, and wound repair; as well as in hepatoprotective, motor, neuroendocrine and respiratory mechanisms. ACTH plays a role in acetylcholine release, aggressive behavior, blood pressure, bone maintenance, hyperalgesia, feeding, fever, grooming, learning, lipolysis, memory, nerve injury repair, neuroprotection, sexual behavior, sleep, social behavior, tissue growth and stimulates the synthesis and secretion of glucocorticoids. Enkephalins/ACTH are also involved in many pathologies. Enkephalins are implicated in alcoholism, cancer, colitis, depression, heart failure, Huntington's disease, influenza A virus infection, ischemia, multiple sclerosis, and stress. ACTH plays a role in Addison's disease, alcoholism, cancer, Cushing's disease, dermatitis, encephalitis, epilepsy, Graves' disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome, multiple sclerosis, podocytopathies, and stress. In this review, we provide an updated description of the enkephalinergic and ACTH systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ewing Duque-Díaz
- Universidad de Santander UDES, Laboratory of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
| | - Olga Alvarez-Ojeda
- Universidad Industrial de Santander, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Bucaramanga, Colombia
| | - Rafael Coveñas
- Laboratory of Neuroanatomy of the Peptidergic Systems, Institute of Neurosciences of Castilla y León (INCYL), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
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11
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Yadid G, Ahdoot-Levi H, Bareli T, Maayan R, Weizman A. Dehydroepiandrosterone and Addiction. VITAMINS AND HORMONES 2018; 108:385-412. [PMID: 30029736 DOI: 10.1016/bs.vh.2018.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Drug addiction has a great negative influence on society, both social and economic burden. It was widely thought that addicts could choose to stop using drugs if only they had some self-control and principles. Nowadays, science has changed this view, defining drug addiction as a complex brain disease that affects behavior in many ways, both biological and psychological. Currently there is no ground-breaking reliable treatment for drug addiction. For more than a decade we are researching an alternative approach for intervention with drug craving and relapse to its usage, using DHEA, a well-being and antiaging food supplement. In this chapter we navigate through the significant therapeutic effect of DHEA on the brain circuits that control addiction and on behavioral performance both in animal models and addicts. We suggest that an integrative program of add-on DHEA treatment may further enable to dynamically evaluate the progress of rehabilitation of an individual patient, in a comprehensive assessment. Such a program may boost and support the detoxification and rehabilitation process, and help patients regain a normal life in a shorter amount of time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gal Yadid
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel; The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
| | - Hadas Ahdoot-Levi
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Tzofnat Bareli
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Rachel Maayan
- Laboratory of Biological Psychiatry, Felsenstein Medical Research Center, Research Unit, Petah Tikva, Israel
| | - Abraham Weizman
- Laboratory of Biological Psychiatry, Felsenstein Medical Research Center, Research Unit, Petah Tikva, Israel; Geha Mental Health Center, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Bjorness TE, Greene RW. Dose response of acute cocaine on sleep/waking behavior in mice. Neurobiol Sleep Circadian Rhythms 2018; 5:84-93. [PMID: 31236515 PMCID: PMC6584645 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbscr.2018.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2017] [Revised: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic cocaine use has been associated with sleep disturbances, both during active use periods and during withdrawal and abstinence. Acute cocaine also increases waking at the expense of slow wave sleep and Rapid Eye Movement in non-human subjects. However, the effects of acute cocaine on sleep/waking activity in mice, a rodent model commonly used in both sleep and addiction research due to its high genetic tractability, has yet to be investigated. Sleep/waking activity was measured via polysomnography following IP administration of three doses of cocaine (3.6, 9.6, 18 mg/kg) and vehicle control in male C57BL/6 mice. Cocaine dose-dependently increased sleep latency, increased waking time and increased fast EEG activity within waking. Increases in waking occurred primarily during the first hour following injection, followed by rebound SWS sleep. Sleep/waking activity normalized within a 24-hour period. As with humans and other rodents, cocaine dose dependently reduces sleep in a wildtype strain of mice commonly used in reward and addiction research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa E. Bjorness
- Research Service, VA North Texas Health Care System, 4500 S. Lancaster Dr., Dallas, TX 75216, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX 75390, United States
| | - Robert W. Greene
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX 75390, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX 75390, United States
- Mental Health Service, VA North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, TX, 75216, United States
- International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan 305-8577
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Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Bodnar
- Department of Psychology and CUNY Neuroscience Collaborative, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367, United States.
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Mongi-Bragato B, Avalos MP, Guzmán AS, Bollati FA, Cancela LM. Enkephalin as a Pivotal Player in Neuroadaptations Related to Psychostimulant Addiction. Front Psychiatry 2018; 9:222. [PMID: 29892236 PMCID: PMC5985699 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Enkephalin expression is high in mesocorticolimbic areas associated with psychostimulant-induced behavioral and neurobiological effects, and may also modulate local neurotransmission in this circuit network. Psychostimulant drugs, like amphetamine and cocaine, significantly increase the content of enkephalin in these brain structures, but we do not yet understand the specific significance of this drug-induced adaptation. In this review, we summarize the neurochemical and molecular mechanism of psychostimulant-induced enkephalin activation in mesocorticolimbic brain areas, and the contribution of this opioid peptide in the pivotal neuroadaptations and long-term behavioral changes underlying psychostimulant addiction. There is evidence suggesting that adaptive changes in enkephalin content in the mesocorticolimbic circuit, induced by acute and chronic psychostimulant administration, may represent a key initial step in the long-term behavioral and neuronal plasticity induced by these drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bethania Mongi-Bragato
- Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - María P Avalos
- Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Andrea S Guzmán
- Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Flavia A Bollati
- Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Liliana M Cancela
- Instituto de Farmacología Experimental de Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
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