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Diester CM, Balint H, Gillespie JC, Lichtman AH, Sim-Selley LJ, Selley DE, Negus SS. Effects of Repeated Treatment with the Monoacylglycerol Lipase Inhibitor MJN110 on Pain-Related Depression of Nesting and Cannabinoid 1 Receptor Function in Male and Female Mice. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2024; 390:291-301. [PMID: 38262742 PMCID: PMC11338278 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.123.001940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
MJN110 inhibits the enzyme monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) to increase levels of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol , an endogenous high-efficacy agonist of cannabinoid 1 and 2 receptors (CB1/2R). MAGL inhibitors are under consideration as candidate analgesics, and we reported previously that acute MJN110 produced partial antinociception in an assay of pain-related behavioral depression in mice. Given the need for repeated analgesic administration in many pain patients and the potential for analgesic tolerance during repeated treatment, this study examined antinociceptive effects of repeated MJN110 on pain-related behavioral depression and CB1R-mediated G-protein function. Male and female ICR mice were treated daily for 7 days in a 2 × 2 design with (a) 1.0 mg/kg/d MJN110 or its vehicle followed by (b) intraperitoneal injection of dilute lactic acid (IP acid) or its vehicle as a visceral noxious stimulus to depress nesting behavior. After behavioral testing, G-protein activity was assessed in lumbar spinal cord (LSC) and five brain regions using an assay of CP55,940-stimulated [35S]GTPɣS activation. As reported previously, acute MJN110 produced partial but significant relief of IP acid-induced nesting depression on day 1. After 7 days, MJN110 continued to produce significant but partial antinociception in males, while antinociceptive tolerance developed in females. Repeated MJN110 also produced modest decreases in maximum levels of CP55,940-induced [35S]GTPɣS binding in spinal cord and most brain regions. These results indicate that repeated treatment with a relatively low antinociceptive MJN110 dose produces only partial and sex-dependent transient antinociception associated with the emergence of CB1R desensitization in this model of IP acid-induced nesting depression. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: The drug MJN110 inhibits monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) to increase levels of the endogenous cannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol and produce potentially useful therapeutic effects including analgesia. This study used an assay of pain-related behavioral depression in mice to show that repeated MJN110 treatment produced (1) weak but sustained antinociception in male mice, (2) antinociceptive tolerance in females, and (3) modest cannabinoid-receptor desensitization that varied by region and sex. Antinociceptive tolerance may limit the utility of MJN110 for treatment of pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare M Diester
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (C.M.D., H.B., J.C.G., A.H.L., L.J.S.-S., D.E.S., S.S.N.) and School of Pharmacy (A.H.L.), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Hallie Balint
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (C.M.D., H.B., J.C.G., A.H.L., L.J.S.-S., D.E.S., S.S.N.) and School of Pharmacy (A.H.L.), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - James C Gillespie
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (C.M.D., H.B., J.C.G., A.H.L., L.J.S.-S., D.E.S., S.S.N.) and School of Pharmacy (A.H.L.), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Aron H Lichtman
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (C.M.D., H.B., J.C.G., A.H.L., L.J.S.-S., D.E.S., S.S.N.) and School of Pharmacy (A.H.L.), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Laura J Sim-Selley
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (C.M.D., H.B., J.C.G., A.H.L., L.J.S.-S., D.E.S., S.S.N.) and School of Pharmacy (A.H.L.), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Dana E Selley
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (C.M.D., H.B., J.C.G., A.H.L., L.J.S.-S., D.E.S., S.S.N.) and School of Pharmacy (A.H.L.), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - S Stevens Negus
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (C.M.D., H.B., J.C.G., A.H.L., L.J.S.-S., D.E.S., S.S.N.) and School of Pharmacy (A.H.L.), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
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Wilkerson JL. Seeing through the Haze: Monoacylglycerol Lipase Inhibitors As Analgesics. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2024; 390:288-290. [PMID: 39159976 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.124.002132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/21/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jenny L Wilkerson
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, Amarillo, Texas
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League AF, Yadav-Samudrala BJ, Kolagani R, Cline CA, Jacobs IR, Manke J, Niphakis MJ, Cravatt BF, Lichtman AH, Ignatowska-Jankowska BM, Fitting S. A helping HAND: therapeutic potential of MAGL inhibition against HIV-1-associated neuroinflammation. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1374301. [PMID: 38835765 PMCID: PMC11148243 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1374301] [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: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects nearly 40 million people globally, with roughly 80% of all people living with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy. Antiretroviral treatment suppresses viral load in peripheral tissues but does not effectively penetrate the blood-brain barrier. Thus, viral reservoirs persist in the central nervous system and continue to produce low levels of inflammatory factors and early viral proteins, including the transactivator of transcription (Tat). HIV Tat is known to contribute to chronic neuroinflammation and synaptodendritic damage, which is associated with the development of cognitive, motor, and/or mood problems, collectively known as HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Cannabinoid anti-inflammatory effects are well documented, but therapeutic utility of cannabis remains limited due to its psychotropic effects, including alterations within brain regions encoding reward processing and motivation, such as the nucleus accumbens. Alternatively, inhibiting monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) has demonstrated therapeutic potential through interactions with the endocannabinoid system. Methods The present study utilized a reward-related operant behavioral task to quantify motivated behavior in female Tat transgenic mice treated with vehicle or MAGL inhibitor MJN110 (1 mg/kg). Brain tissue was collected to assess dendritic injury and neuroinflammatory profiles, including dendritic microtubule-associated protein (MAP2ab) intensity, microglia density, microglia morphology, astrocyte density, astrocytic interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) colocalization, and various lipid mediators. Results No significant behavioral differences were observed; however, MJN110 protected against Tat-induced dendritic injury by significantly upregulating MAP2ab intensity in the nucleus accumbens and in the infralimbic cortex of Tat(+) mice. No or only minor effects were noted for Iba-1+ microglia density and/or microglia morphology. Further, Tat increased GFAP+ astrocyte density in the infralimbic cortex and GFAP+ astrocytic IL-1ß colocalization in the nucleus accumbens, with MJN110 significantly reducing these measures in Tat(+) subjects. Lastly, selected HETE-related inflammatory lipid mediators in the striatum were downregulated by chronic MJN110 treatment. Conclusions These findings demonstrate anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties of MJN110 without cannabimimetic behavioral effects and suggest a promising alternative to cannabis for managing neuroinflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis F. League
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Barkha J. Yadav-Samudrala
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Ramya Kolagani
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Calista A. Cline
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Ian R. Jacobs
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Jonathan Manke
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States
| | - Micah J. Niphakis
- Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | | | - Aron H. Lichtman
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | | | - Sylvia Fitting
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
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Negus SS, Akbarali HI, Kang M, Lee YK, Marsh SA, Santos EJ, Zhang Y. Role of mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonist efficacy as a determinant of opioid antinociception in a novel assay of pain-depressed behavior in female and male mice. FRONTIERS IN PAIN RESEARCH 2023; 4:1281698. [PMID: 37886350 PMCID: PMC10598607 DOI: 10.3389/fpain.2023.1281698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Intermediate efficacy mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonists have potential to retain analgesic effectiveness while improving safety, but the optimal MOR efficacy for effective and safe opioid analgesia is unknown. Preclinical assays of pain-depressed behavior can assess effects of opioids and other candidate analgesics on pain-related behavioral depression, which is a common manifestation of clinically relevant pain and target of pain treatment. Accordingly, the present study goal was to validate a novel assay of pain-depressed locomotor behavior in mice and evaluate the role of MOR efficacy as a determinant of opioid analgesic effects and related safety measures. Methods Male and female ICR mice were tested in a locomotor chamber consisting of 2 compartments connected by a doorway that contained a 1-inch-tall barrier. Dependent measures during 15-min behavioral sessions included crosses between compartments (which required vertical activity to surmount the barrier) and total movement counts (which required horizontal activity to break photobeams in each compartment). Results and Discussion Intraperitoneal injection of lactic acid (IP acid) produced a concentration- and time-dependent depression of both endpoints. Optimal blockade of IP acid-induced behavioral depression with minimal motor impairment was achieved with intermediate-efficacy MOR treatments that also produced less gastrointestinal-transit inhibition and respiratory depression than the high-efficacy MOR agonist fentanyl. Sex differences in treatment effects were rare. Overall, these findings validate a novel procedure for evaluating opioids and other candidate analgesic effects on pain-related behavioral depression in mice and support continued research with intermediate-efficacy MOR agonists as a strategy to retain opioid analgesic effectiveness with improved safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Stevens Negus
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Hamid I. Akbarali
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Minho Kang
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Young K. Lee
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Samuel A. Marsh
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Edna J. Santos
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
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Garner JB, Marshall LS, Boyer NM, Alapatt V, Miller LL. Effects of Ketoprofen and Morphine on Pain-Related Depression of Nestlet Shredding in Male and Female Mice. FRONTIERS IN PAIN RESEARCH 2021; 2:673940. [PMID: 34485976 PMCID: PMC8415797 DOI: 10.3389/fpain.2021.673940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
A primary goal in pain treatment is restoration of behaviors that are disrupted by pain. Measures of pain interference indicate the degree to which pain interferes with activities in pain patients, and these measures are used to evaluate the effects of analgesic drugs. As a result of the emphasis on the expression and treatment of functional impairment in clinical settings, preclinical pain researchers have attempted to develop procedures for evaluation of pain-related functional impairment in laboratory animals. The goal of the present study was to develop and validate a low cost procedure for the objective evaluation of pain-related depression of home cage behavior in mice. On test days, a 5 × 5 cm Nestlet was weighed prior to being suspended from the wire lid of the home cage of individually housed male and female ICR mice. Over the course of experimental sessions, mice removed pieces of the suspended Nestlet, and began to build a nest with the material they removed. Thus, the weight of the pieces of Nestlet that remained suspended at various time points in the session provided an indicator of the rate of this behavior. The results indicate that Nestlet shredding was stable with repeated testing, and shredding was depressed by intra-peritoneal injection of 0.32% lactic acid. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ketoprofen blocked 0.32% lactic acid-induced depression of shredding, but did not block depression of shredding by a pharmacological stimulus, the kappa opioid receptor agonist U69,593. The μ-opioid receptor agonist morphine did not block 0.32% lactic acid-induced depression of shredding when tested up to doses that depressed shredding in the absence of lactic acid. When noxious stimulus intensity was reduced by decreasing the lactic acid concentration to 0.18%, morphine was effective at blocking pain-related depression of behavior. In summary, the data from the present study support consideration of the Nestlet shredding procedure for use in studies examining mechanisms, expression, and treatment of pain-related functional impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Laurence L. Miller
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
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Siemian JN, Arenivar MA, Sarsfield S, Borja CB, Erbaugh LJ, Eagle AL, Robison AJ, Leinninger G, Aponte Y. An excitatory lateral hypothalamic circuit orchestrating pain behaviors in mice. eLife 2021; 10:e66446. [PMID: 34042586 PMCID: PMC8159376 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how neuronal circuits control nociceptive processing will advance the search for novel analgesics. We use functional imaging to demonstrate that lateral hypothalamic parvalbumin-positive (LHPV) glutamatergic neurons respond to acute thermal stimuli and a persistent inflammatory irritant. Moreover, their chemogenetic modulation alters both pain-related behavioral adaptations and the unpleasantness of a noxious stimulus. In two models of persistent pain, optogenetic activation of LHPV neurons or their ventrolateral periaqueductal gray area (vlPAG) axonal projections attenuates nociception, and neuroanatomical tracing reveals that LHPV neurons preferentially target glutamatergic over GABAergic neurons in the vlPAG. By contrast, LHPV projections to the lateral habenula regulate aversion but not nociception. Finally, we find that LHPV activation evokes additive to synergistic antinociceptive interactions with morphine and restores morphine antinociception following the development of morphine tolerance. Our findings identify LHPV neurons as a lateral hypothalamic cell type involved in nociception and demonstrate their potential as a target for analgesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin N Siemian
- Neuronal Circuits and Behavior Unit, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Miguel A Arenivar
- Neuronal Circuits and Behavior Unit, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Sarah Sarsfield
- Neuronal Circuits and Behavior Unit, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Cara B Borja
- Neuronal Circuits and Behavior Unit, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Lydia J Erbaugh
- Neuronal Circuits and Behavior Unit, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Andrew L Eagle
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State UniversityEast LansingUnited States
| | - Alfred J Robison
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State UniversityEast LansingUnited States
| | - Gina Leinninger
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State UniversityEast LansingUnited States
- Institute for Integrative Toxicology at Michigan State UniversityEast LansingUnited States
| | - Yeka Aponte
- Neuronal Circuits and Behavior Unit, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
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Diester CM, Santos EJ, Moerke MJ, Negus SS. Behavioral Battery for Testing Candidate Analgesics in Mice. I. Validation with Positive and Negative Controls. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2021; 377:232-241. [PMID: 33622770 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.120.000464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
This study evaluated a battery of pain-stimulated, pain-depressed, and pain-independent behaviors for preclinical pharmacological assessment of candidate analgesics in mice. Intraperitoneal injection of dilute lactic acid (IP acid) served as an acute visceral noxious stimulus to produce four pain-related behaviors in male and female ICR mice: stimulation of 1) stretching, 2) facial grimace, 3) depression of rearing, and 4) depression of nesting. Additionally, nesting and locomotion in the absence of the noxious stimulus were used to assess pain-independent drug effects. These six behaviors were used to compare effects of two mechanistically distinct but clinically effective positive controls (ketoprofen and oxycodone) and two negative controls that are not clinically approved as analgesics but produce either general motor depression (diazepam) or motor stimulation (amphetamine). We predicted that analgesics would alleviate all IP acid effects at doses that did not alter pain-independent behaviors, whereas negative controls would not. Consistent with this prediction, ketoprofen (0.1-32 mg/kg) produced the expected analgesic profile, whereas oxycodone (0.32-3.2 mg/kg) alleviated all IP acid effects except depression of rearing at doses lower than those that altered pain-independent behaviors. For the negative controls, diazepam (1-10 mg/kg) failed to block IP acid-induced depression of either rearing or nesting and only decreased IP acid-stimulated behaviors at doses that also decreased pain-independent behaviors. Amphetamine (0.32-3.2 mg/kg) alleviated all IP acid effects but only at doses that also stimulated locomotion. These results support utility of this model as a framework to evaluate candidate-analgesic effects in a battery of complementary pain-stimulated, pain-depressed, and pain-independent behavioral endpoints. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Preclinical assays of pain and analgesia often yield false-positive effects with candidate analgesics. This study used two positive-control analgesics (ketoprofen, oxycodone) and two active negative controls (diazepam, amphetamine) to validate a strategy for distinguishing analgesics from nonanalgesics by profiling drug effects in a battery of complementary pain-stimulated, pain-depressed, and pain-independent behaviors in male and female mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M Diester
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - E J Santos
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - M J Moerke
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - S S Negus
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
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