Clocinnamox antagonism of opioid suppression of schedule-controlled responding in rhesus monkeys

An Immunconjugate Vaccine Alters Distribution and Reduces the Antinociceptive, Behavioral and Physiological Effects of Fentanyl in Male and Female Rats

Fentanyl (FEN) is a potent synthetic opioid associated with increasing incidence of opioid use disorder (OUD) and fatal opioid overdose. Vaccine immunotherapy for FEN-associated disorders may be a viable therapeutic strategy. Here, we expand and confirm our previous study in mice showing immunological and antinociception efficacy of our FEN vaccine administered with the adjuvant dmLT. In this study, immunized male and female rats produced significant levels of anti-FEN antibodies that were highly effective at neutralizing FEN-induced antinociception in the tail flick assay and hot plate assays. The vaccine also decreased FEN brain levels following drug administration. Immunization blocked FEN-induced, but not morphine-induced, rate-disrupting effects on schedule-controlled responding. Vaccination prevented decreases on physiological measures (oxygen saturation, heart rate) and reduction in overall activity following FEN administration in male rats. The impact of FEN on these measures was greater in unvaccinated male rats compared to unvaccinated female rats. Cross-reactivity assays showed anti-FEN antibodies bound to FEN and sufentanil but not to morphine, methadone, buprenorphine, or oxycodone. These data support further clinical development of this vaccine to address OUD in humans.

Effects of α-pyrrolidino-phenone cathinone stimulants on locomotor behavior in female rats

The α-pyrrolidino-phenone cathinone stimulants first came to widespread attention because of bizarre behavior consequent to the use of α-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (α-PVP, "flakka") reported in popular press. As with other designer drugs, diversification of cathinones has been driven by desirable subjective effects, but also by attempts to stay ahead of legal controls of specific molecules. The α-pyrrolidinohexiophenone (α-PHP) and α-pyrrolidinopropiophenone (α-PPP) compounds have been relatively under-investigated relative to α-PVP and provide a key opportunity to also investigate structure-activity relationships, i.e., how the extension of the alpha carbon chain may affect potency or efficacy. Female rats were used to contrast the effects of α-PHP and α-PPP with those of α-PVP in altering wheel activity and effects on spontaneous locomotion, temperature and intracranial self-stimulation reward. The α-PPP, α-PHP and α-PVP compounds (5, 10 mg/kg, i.p.) suppressed wheel activity. Inhalation of α-PHP or α-PVP also suppressed wheel activity, but for an abbreviated duration compared with the injection route. Spontaneous activity was increased, and brain reward thresholds decreased, in a dose-dependent manner by all three compounds; only small decrements in body temperature were observed. These data show that all three of the α-pyrrolidino-phenone cathinones exhibit significant stimulant-like activity in female rats. Differences were minor and abuse liability is therefore likely to be equivalent for all three α-pyrrolidino-phenones.

Vaccine blunts fentanyl potency in male rhesus monkeys

One proposed factor contributing to the increased frequency of opioid overdose deaths is the emergence of novel synthetic opioids, including illicit fentanyl and fentanyl analogues. A treatment strategy currently under development to address the ongoing opioid crisis is immunopharmacotherapies or opioid-targeted vaccines. The present study determined the effectiveness and selectivity of a fentanyl-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine to alter the behavioral effects of fentanyl and a structurally dissimilar mu-opioid agonist oxycodone in male rhesus monkeys (n = 3-4). Fentanyl and oxycodone produced dose-dependent suppression of behavior in an assay of schedule-controlled responding and antinociception in an assay of thermal nociception (50 °C). Acute naltrexone (0.032 mg/kg) produced an approximate 10-fold potency shift for fentanyl to decrease operant responding. The fentanyl vaccine was administered at weeks 0, 2, 4, 9, 19, and 44 and fentanyl or oxycodone potencies in both behavioral assays were redetermined over the course of 49 weeks. The vaccine significantly and selectively shifted fentanyl potency at least 10-fold in both assays at several time points over the entire experimental period. Mid-point titer levels correlated with fentanyl antinociceptive potency shifts. Antibody affinity for fentanyl as measured by a competitive binding assay improved over time to approximately 3-4 nM. The fentanyl vaccine also increased fentanyl plasma levels approximately 6-fold consistent with the hypothesis that the vaccine sequesters fentanyl in the blood. Overall, these results support the continued development and evaluation of this fentanyl vaccine in humans to address the ongoing opioid crisis.

Pentazocine-induced antinociception is mediated mainly by μ-opioid receptors and compromised by κ-opioid receptors in mice

Pentazocine is a widely used mixed agonist-antagonist opioid. Previous animal studies have demonstrated that pentazocine-induced antinociception displayed a ceiling effect characterized by biphasic dose response with a increasing and then descending analgesia like a bell-shaped curve. This study attempted to clarify the mechanisms underlying such dose-response relationships. ddY and C57BL/6J mice received subcutaneous injection of saline or pentazocine (3, 10, 30, 56, or 100 mg · kg(-1)), at 120 min after subcutaneous injection of saline, a μ-opioid receptor antagonist clocinnamox mesylate (C-CAM) (5 mg · kg(-1)), a κ-opioid receptor antagonist nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI) (10 mg · kg(-1)), or the combination of C-CAM and nor-BNI. The antinociceptive effects of pentazocine were evaluated using tail pressure, hot plate, tail flick, and acetic acid writhing tests. Without pretreatment with an opioid receptor antagonist, the antinociceptive effects of pentazocine exhibited biphasic bell-shaped dose-response curves peaking at 30 mg · kg(-1). C-CAM completely and partly antagonized the antinociception induced by pentazocine at low (3-30 mg · kg(-1)) and high (56-100 mg · kg(-1)) doses, respectively. nor-BNI enhanced the antinociception by pentazocine at high doses and turned the later descending portion of the biphasic dose-response curves into a sigmoid curve. The combination of C-CAM and nor-BNI completely abolished the antinociception by pentazocine at all doses. Our results suggest pentazocine produces antinociception primarily via activation of μ-opioid receptors, but at high doses, this μ-opioid receptor-mediated antinociception is antagonized by concomitant activation of κ-opioid receptors. This provides the first reasonable hypothesis to explain the ceiling effects of pentazocine analgesia characterized by a biphasic dose response.

Effect of opioid receptor antagonists on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity in rhesus monkeys

Some opioid antagonists increase the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol in humans and, therefore, may indicate that endogenous opioids modulate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. The type of opioid receptor that may be related to these endocrine effects is unknown. The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the ability of different opioid antagonists to increase ACTH and cortisol plasma levels in rhesus monkeys. Eight monkeys received intramuscular injections of various antagonists: 0.0032-1.0 mg/kg naltrexone, 0.1-3.2 mg/kg naltrindole (delta-selective), 0.032-0.32 mg/kg clocinnamox (mu-selective), and 1-3.2 mg/kg nor-binaltorphimine (kappa-selective). Naltrexone, 0.1-1.0 mg/kg, increased ACTH levels, whereas naltrindole and clocinnamox failed to increase ACTH levels. Nor-binaltorphimine, 1-3.2 mg/kg, increased ACTH concentrations on the day of injection, but not at a time when other assays continue to demonstrate kappa-antagonism (24 h). Cortisol concentrations generally followed the same pattern as the ACTH concentrations, but the incremental differences in cortisol release between doses were less clear. Thus, opioid modulation of ACTH and cortisol plasma levels is not clearly associated with a particular opioid receptor. Although the kappa-antagonist increased ACTH and cortisol release on the day of injection, some evidence suggests that this endocrine effect may be due to mechanisms other than those mediated by the kappa-receptor. Alternatively, the naltrexone-induced increase of ACTH and cortisol plasma levels may be caused by activity at multiple opioid receptors or some uncharacterized receptor. Finally, the increased release of ACTH and cortisol may be a response to naltrexone's aversive properties.

Oral ethanol-reinforced responding in rhesus monkeys: effects of opioid antagonists selective for the mu-, kappa-, or delta-receptor

To determine the mechanism by which naltrexone (NTX) reduces oral ethanol-reinforced responding, opioid antagonists that show mu-, kappa-, or delta-selectivity were evaluated. Rhesus monkeys (n = 6) were given opportunities to respond and receive ethanol (1% or 2%) or water during daily 3-hr drinking sessions. Before some drinking sessions, the monkeys received intramuscular injections of saline or the following drugs: the mu-selective irreversible antagonist clocinnamox (CCAM), the kappa-selective long-lasting antagonist nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI), or the delta-selective antagonist naltrindole. Also, NTX was administered along with either CCAM or nor-BNI. When given alone, CCAM (0.1 mg/kg) had no effect on ethanol-reinforced responding. When NTX (0.32 mg/kg) was given with CCAM, responding maintained by ethanol was decreased. Nor-BNI (3 mg/kg) reduced ethanol-reinforced responding only on the day of injection. On subsequent days, when other studies report continued kappa-antagonism, responding maintained by ethanol returned to control levels. Also, NTX (0.32 mg/kg), administered in the presence of nor-BNI, was still able to reduce ethanol-reinforced responding. Naltrindole failed to alter responding maintained by ethanol. Because selective antagonism at the mu-, kappa-, or delta-receptor did not reduce ethanol-reinforced responding, NTX's ability to reduce ethanol consumption may not be mediated by these previously characterized opioid receptors. NTX may exert its effects through an uncharacterized opioid binding site or through a nonopioid mechanism.

The role of endogenous opioids in the luteinizing hormone surge in rats: studies with clocinnamox, a long-lasting opioid receptor antagonist

Endogenous opioid peptides have been demonstrated to regulate luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in a variety of species. Studies in rodents suggest a role of opioid peptide systems in controlling the timing of the LH surge, which is entrained to the circadian rhythm. The current studies utilize clocinnamox, a novel long-lasting opioid receptor antagonist that is capable of occupying mu-opioid receptors for periods of one week or more, to examine the role of endogenous opioid systems on the LH surge. Administration of clocinnamox [14b-(p-chlorocinamoylamino)-7,8-dihydro-N-cyclopropylmethyl normophineone mesylate]) on the morning of proestrus advanced the LH surge by several hours. Despite the blockade of opioid receptors and analgesia for more than one week, administration of clocinnamox on the evening of diestrus II had no effect on the timing of the LH surge but significantly increased plasma LH levels throughout the day of proestrus. These data suggest that removal of opioid tone is unlikely to be the critical signal controlling the initiation of the LH surge in rodents, although it does appear to be permissive for the surge. Furthermore, the mu-opioid receptor appears to be the receptor involved in the regulation of the LH surge.

Endogenous opiates: 1996

This paper is the nineteenth installment of our annual review of research concerning the opiate system. It summarizes papers published during 1996 reporting the behavioral effects of the opiate peptides and antagonists, excluding the purely analgesic effects, although stress-induced analgesia is included. The specific topics covered this year include stress, tolerance and dependence; eating; drinking; gastrointestinal, renal, and hepatic function; mental illness and mood; learning, memory, and reward; cardiovascular responses; respiration and thermoregulation; seizures and other neurological disorders; electrical-related activity; general activity and locomotion; sex, pregnancy, and development; immunological responses; and other behaviors.