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Hilal FF, Jeanblanc J, Deschamps C, Naassila M, Pierrefiche O, Ben Hamida S. Epigenetic drugs and psychedelics as emerging therapies for alcohol use disorder: insights from preclinical studies. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2024; 131:525-561. [PMID: 38554193 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-024-02757-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a public health issue that affects millions of people worldwide leading to physical, mental and socio-economic consequences. While current treatments for AUD have provided relief to individuals, their effectiveness on the long term is often limited, leaving a number of affected individuals without sustainable solutions. In this review, we aim to explore two emerging approaches for AUD: psychedelics and epigenetic drugs (i.e., epidrugs). By examining preclinical studies, different animal species and procedures, we delve into the potential benefits of each of these treatments in terms of addictive behaviors (alcohol drinking and seeking, motivation to drink alcohol and prevention of relapse). Because psychedelics and epidrugs may share common and complementary mechanisms of action, there is an exciting opportunity for exploring synergies between these approaches and their parallel effectiveness in treating AUD and the diverse associated psychiatric conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fahd François Hilal
- INSERM UMR 1247-Research Group on Alcohol and Pharmacodependences (GRAP), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Chemin du Thil - Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Santé, 80025, Amiens, France
| | - Jerome Jeanblanc
- INSERM UMR 1247-Research Group on Alcohol and Pharmacodependences (GRAP), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Chemin du Thil - Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Santé, 80025, Amiens, France
| | - Chloé Deschamps
- INSERM UMR 1247-Research Group on Alcohol and Pharmacodependences (GRAP), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Chemin du Thil - Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Santé, 80025, Amiens, France
| | - Mickael Naassila
- INSERM UMR 1247-Research Group on Alcohol and Pharmacodependences (GRAP), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Chemin du Thil - Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Santé, 80025, Amiens, France.
| | - Olivier Pierrefiche
- INSERM UMR 1247-Research Group on Alcohol and Pharmacodependences (GRAP), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Chemin du Thil - Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Santé, 80025, Amiens, France
| | - Sami Ben Hamida
- INSERM UMR 1247-Research Group on Alcohol and Pharmacodependences (GRAP), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Chemin du Thil - Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Santé, 80025, Amiens, France.
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Yao H, Shen H, Yu H, Wang C, Ding R, Lan X, Tash D, Wu X, Wang X, Zhang G. Chronic ethanol exposure induced depressive-like behavior in male C57BL/6 N mice by downregulating GluA1. Physiol Behav 2021; 234:113387. [PMID: 33713693 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Chronic ethanol exposure can increase the risk of depression. The α-amino-3‑hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid (AMPA) receptor is a key factor in depression and its treatment. The study was conducted to investigate the depressive-like behavior induced by chronic ethanol exposure in mice and to explore the mechanism in cells. To establish the chronic ethanol exposure mouse model, male C57BL/6 N mice were administered 10% (m/V) and 20% (m/V) ethanol as the only choice for drinking for 60 days, 90 days and 180 days. Depressive-like behavior in mice was confirmed by the forced swimming test (FST). Ethanol-induced changes in the mouse hippocampus were indicated by Western blotting, qPCR and Fluoro-Jade C (FJC) staining. We confirmed that 90- and 180-day ethanol exposure can lead to depressive-like mouse behavior, cell apoptosis, neuronal degeneration, a reduction in GluA1 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression, and an increase in IL-6 and IL-1β in the mouse hippocampus. GluA1 silencing and overexpression models of SH-SY5Y cells were established for further investigation. The cells were treated with 100 mM and 200 mM ethanol for 24 h. Ethanol exposure decreased cell viability and the expression of BDNF and increased the cell apoptosis rate and the expression of BAX, cleaved caspase-3, IL-1β and IL-6. GluA1 silencing aggravated ethanol-induced changes in cell viability and apoptosis and the expression of BDNF, BAX and cleaved caspase-3, and GluA1 overexpression attenuated these changes. Neither the silencing nor overexpression of GluA1 had an effect on ethanol-induced increases in IL-1β and IL-6. Our results indicated that chronic ethanol exposure induced depressive-like behavior in male C57BL/6 N mice by downregulating GluA1 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Yao
- Department of Forensic Pathology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, P. R. China
| | - Hui Shen
- Department of Forensic Pathology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, P. R. China
| | - Hao Yu
- Department of Forensic Pathology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, P. R. China
| | - Changliang Wang
- Department of Forensic Pathology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, P. R. China; The People's Procuratorate of Liaoning Province Judicial Authentication Center, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110032, P. R. China; Collaborative Laboratory of Intelligentized Forensic Science (CLIFS), Shenyang, Liaoning, 110032, P. R. China
| | - Runtao Ding
- Department of Forensic Pathology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, P. R. China; School of Clinical Medicine, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, 261053, P. R. China
| | - Xinze Lan
- Department of Forensic Pathology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, P. R. China
| | - Dilichati Tash
- Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture Public Security Bureau, Artux, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 845350, P. R. China
| | - Xu Wu
- Department of Forensic Pathology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, P. R. China.
| | - Xiaolong Wang
- Department of Forensic Pathology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, P. R. China.
| | - Guohua Zhang
- Department of Forensic Pathology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, P. R. China.
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Weston RG, Fitzgerald PJ, Watson BO. Repeated Dosing of Ketamine in the Forced Swim Test: Are Multiple Shots Better Than One? Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:659052. [PMID: 34045982 PMCID: PMC8144297 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.659052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The anesthetic drug ketamine has been successfully repurposed as an antidepressant in human subjects. This represents a breakthrough for clinical psychopharmacology, because unlike monoaminergic antidepressants, ketamine has rapid onset, including in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) that is resistant to conventional pharmacotherapy. This rapid therapeutic onset suggests a unique mechanism of action, which continues to be investigated in reverse translational studies in rodents. A large fraction of rodent and human studies of ketamine have focused on the effects of only a single administration of ketamine, which presents a problem because MDD is typically a persistent illness that may require ongoing treatment with this drug to prevent relapse. Here we review behavioral studies in rodents that used repeated dosing of ketamine in the forced swim test (FST), with an eye toward eventual mechanistic studies. A subset of these studies carried out additional experiments with only a single injection of ketamine for comparison, and several studies used chronic psychosocial stress, where stress is a known causative factor in some cases of MDD. We find that repeated ketamine can in some cases paradoxically produce increases in immobility in the FST, especially at high doses such as 50 or 100 mg/kg. Several studies however provide evidence that repeated dosing is more effective than a single dose at decreasing immobility, including behavioral effects that last longer. Collectively, this growing literature suggests that repeated dosing of ketamine has prominent depression-related effects in rodents, and further investigation may help optimize the use of this drug in humans experiencing MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ridge G Weston
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Paul J Fitzgerald
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Brendon O Watson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
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Strong CE, Kabbaj M. Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Rewarding and Therapeutic Effects of Ketamine as a Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:593860. [PMID: 33362485 PMCID: PMC7759199 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.593860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is the most prevalent substance use disorder and causes a significant global burden. Relapse rates remain incredibly high after decades of attempting to develop novel treatment options that have failed to produce increased rates of sobriety. Ketamine has emerged as a potential treatment for AUD following its success as a therapeutic agent for depression, demonstrated by several preclinical studies showing that acute administration reduced alcohol intake in rodents. As such, ketamine's therapeutic effects for AUD are now being investigated in clinical trials with the hope of it being efficacious in prolonging sobriety from alcohol in humans (ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT01558063). Importantly, ketamine's antidepressant effects only last for about 1-week and because AUD is a lifelong disorder, repeated treatment regimens would be necessary to maintain sobriety. This raises questions regarding its safety for AUD treatment since ketamine itself has the potential for addiction. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the neuroadaptations related to alcohol's addictive properties as well as ketamine's therapeutic and addictive properties. To do this, the focus will be on reward-related brain regions such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc), dorsal striatum, prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and ventral tegmental area (VTA) to understand how acute vs. chronic exposure will alter reward signaling over time. Additionally, evidence from these studies will be summarized in both male and female subjects. Accordingly, this review aims to address the safety of repeated ketamine infusions for the treatment of AUD. Although more work about the safety of ketamine to treat AUD is warranted, we hope this review sheds light on some answers about the safety of repeated ketamine infusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline E Strong
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
| | - Mohamed Kabbaj
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
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Rasti AR, Coombe VE, Muzik JR, Kliethermes CL. Pharmacological characterization of the forced swim test in Drosophila melanogaster. INVERTEBRATE NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 20:22. [PMID: 33170389 DOI: 10.1007/s10158-020-00255-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The forced swim test is commonly used as a preclinical screen of antidepressant medication efficacy in rats and mice. Neckameyer and Nieto-Romero (Stress 18:254-66, 2015) adopted the forced swim test for use with the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and showed that behavior in this test is sensitive to several physiologically relevant stressors. However, whether this test might be sensitive to the effects of antidepressant medications or other compounds is unknown. In the current studies, we fed drugs to male and female flies that we expected to either decrease or increase the duration of immobility in the forced swim test, including fluoxetine, desipramine, picrotoxin, reserpine, 3-iodo-tyrosine, and ethanol. Fluoxetine was the only drug tested that affected behavior in this test, and surprisingly, the direction of the effect depended on the duration of feeding. Short-term (30 min) feeding of the drug prior to test resulted in the expected increase in latency to immobility, while a longer feeding duration (20-24 h) decreased this measure. These results suggest that the pharmacological profile of the fly FST is more restricted than that of the rat or mouse FST, and that the duration of drug exposure is an important consideration in pharmacological research using flies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aryana R Rasti
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Drake University, 318 Olin Hall, 1344 27th Street, Des Moines, IA, 50311, USA
| | - Victoria E Coombe
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Drake University, 318 Olin Hall, 1344 27th Street, Des Moines, IA, 50311, USA
| | - Jerica R Muzik
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Drake University, 318 Olin Hall, 1344 27th Street, Des Moines, IA, 50311, USA
| | - Christopher L Kliethermes
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Drake University, 318 Olin Hall, 1344 27th Street, Des Moines, IA, 50311, USA.
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The Emerging Role of LHb CaMKII in the Comorbidity of Depressive and Alcohol Use Disorders. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21218123. [PMID: 33143210 PMCID: PMC7663385 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21218123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2020] [Revised: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Depressive disorders and alcohol use disorders are widespread among the general population and are significant public health and economic burdens. Alcohol use disorders often co-occur with other psychiatric conditions and this dual diagnosis is called comorbidity. Depressive disorders invariably contribute to the development and worsening of alcohol use disorders, and vice versa. The mechanisms underlying these disorders and their comorbidities remain unclear. Recently, interest in the lateral habenula, a small epithalamic brain structure, has increased because it becomes hyperactive in depression and alcohol use disorders, and can inhibit dopamine and serotonin neurons in the midbrain reward center, the hypofunction of which is believed to be a critical contributor to the etiology of depressive disorders and alcohol use disorders as well as their comorbidities. Additionally, calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) in the lateral habenula has emerged as a critical player in the etiology of these comorbidities. This review analyzes the interplay of CaMKII signaling in the lateral habenula associated with depressive disorders and alcohol use disorders, in addition to the often-comorbid nature of these disorders. Although most of the CaMKII signaling pathway's core components have been discovered, much remains to be learned about the biochemical events that propagate and link between depression and alcohol abuse. As the field rapidly advances, it is expected that further understanding of the pathology involved will allow for targeted treatments.
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Getachew B, Mendieta L, Csoka AB, Aguilera J, Tizabi Y. Antidepressant effects of C-Terminal domain of the heavy chain of tetanus toxin in a rat model of depression. Behav Brain Res 2019; 370:111968. [PMID: 31125623 PMCID: PMC6556421 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.111968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2019] [Revised: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The C-terminal domain of the heavy chain of tetanus toxin (Hc-TeTx) may be of therapeutic potential in motor impairments associated with Parkinson disease (PD). Since depression is a common co-morbid condition with PD, we undertook this study to determine whether Hc-TeTx might also show antidepressant-like properties and whether central brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and/or tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha are also affected by it. Adult male Wistar-Kyoto rats, a putative animal model of depression, were treated with various doses of Hc-TeTx (0, 20, 40 and 60 μg/kg, IM) and their performance in the open field locomotor activity (OFLA) as well as in the forced swim test (FST) was evaluated at 24 h, one week and two weeks after the single injection. A separate group of rats were injected with 60 μg/kg Hc-TeTx and sacrificed 24 h later for neurochemical evaluations. Hc-TeTx resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in immobility score after 24 h, whereas OFLA was not affected. Concomitant with the 24 h behavioral effects, the levels of hippocampal and frontal cortical BDNF were significantly increased, whereas the levels of TNF-alpha in both these areas were significantly decreased. The decrease in immobility scores following higher doses of Hc-TeTx were still evident after one week, but not 2 weeks of rest. These results indicate long lasting antidepressant effects of a single Hc-TeTx dose and suggest potential utility of Hc-TeTx in PD-depression co-morbidity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruk Getachew
- Department of Pharmacology, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Liliana Mendieta
- Laboratorio de Neuroquímica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
| | - Antonei B Csoka
- Department of Anatomy, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA
| | - José Aguilera
- Institut de Neurociències and Departament de Bioquímica i de Biologia Molecular, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Yousef Tizabi
- Department of Pharmacology, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
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