Contribution of the active metabolite, norcocaine, to cocaine's effects after intravenous and oral administration in rats: pharmacodynamics

Cocaine: An Updated Overview on Chemistry, Detection, Biokinetics, and Pharmacotoxicological Aspects including Abuse Pattern

Cocaine is one of the most consumed stimulants throughout the world, as official sources report. It is a naturally occurring sympathomimetic tropane alkaloid derived from the leaves of Erythroxylon coca, which has been used by South American locals for millennia. Cocaine can usually be found in two forms, cocaine hydrochloride, a white powder, or ‘crack’ cocaine, the free base. While the first is commonly administered by insufflation (‘snorting’) or intravenously, the second is adapted for inhalation (smoking). Cocaine can exert local anaesthetic action by inhibiting voltage-gated sodium channels, thus halting electrical impulse propagation; cocaine also impacts neurotransmission by hindering monoamine reuptake, particularly dopamine, from the synaptic cleft. The excess of available dopamine for postsynaptic activation mediates the pleasurable effects reported by users and contributes to the addictive potential and toxic effects of the drug. Cocaine is metabolised (mostly hepatically) into two main metabolites, ecgonine methyl ester and benzoylecgonine. Other metabolites include, for example, norcocaine and cocaethylene, both displaying pharmacological action, and the last one constituting a biomarker for co-consumption of cocaine with alcohol. This review provides a brief overview of cocaine’s prevalence and patterns of use, its physical-chemical properties and methods for analysis, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and multi-level toxicity.

Bioavailability and Pharmacokinetics of Oral Cocaine in Humans

The pharmacokinetic profile of oral cocaine has not been fully characterized and prospective data on oral bioavailability are limited. A within-subject study was performed to characterize the bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of oral cocaine. Fourteen healthy inpatient participants (six males) with current histories of cocaine use were administered two oral doses (100 and 200 mg) and one intravenous (IV) dose (40 mg) of cocaine during three separate dosing sessions. Plasma samples were collected for up to 24 h after dosing and analyzed for cocaine and metabolites by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by non-compartmental analysis, and a two-factor model was used to assess for dose and sex differences. The mean ± SEM oral cocaine bioavailability was 0.32 ± 0.04 after 100 and 0.45 ± 0.06 after 200 mg oral cocaine. Volume of distribution (Vd) and clearance (CL) were both greatest after 100 mg oral (Vd = 4.2 L/kg; CL = 116.2 mL/[min kg]) compared to 200 mg oral (Vd = 2.9 L/kg; CL = 87.5 mL/[min kg]) and 40 mg IV (Vd = 1.3 L/kg; CL = 32.7 mL/[min kg]). Oral cocaine area-under-thecurve (AUC) and peak concentration increased in a dose-related manner. AUC metabolite-to-parent ratios of benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methyl ester were significantly higher after oral compared to IV administration and highest after the lower oral dose. In addition, minor metabolites were detected in higher concentrations after oral compared to IV cocaine. Oral cocaine produced a pharmacokinetic profile different from IV cocaine, which appears as a rightward and downward shift in the concentration-time profile. Cocaine bioavailability values were similar to previous estimates. Oral cocaine also produced a unique metabolic profile, with greater concentrations of major and minor metabolites.

Impulsive actions and choices in laboratory animals and humans: effects of high vs. low dopamine states produced by systemic treatments given to neurologically intact subjects

Increases and decreases in dopamine (DA) transmission have both been suggested to influence reward-related impulse-control. The present literature review suggests that, in laboratory animals, the systemic administration of DA augmenters preferentially increases susceptibility to premature responding; with continued DA transmission, reward approach behaviors are sustained. Decreases in DA transmission, in comparison, diminish the appeal of distal and difficult to obtain rewards, thereby increasing susceptibility to temporal discounting and other forms of impulsive choice. The evidence available in humans is not incompatible with this model but is less extensive.

LC/MS/MS evaluation of cocaine and its metabolites in different brain areas, peripheral organs and plasma in cocaine self-administering rats

BACKGROUND

We employed a cocaine intravenous self-administration model based on positive reinforcement of animals' instrumental reactions (i.e., lever pressing) rewarded by a dose of the drug. We also carried out simultaneous characterization of the pharmacokinetics of cocaine and its metabolites in rats during withdrawal; in this part of the experiments, we investigated the cocaine (2 mg/kg, iv)-induced changes in the distribution, rate constant, clearance and t₁/₂ of the parent drug and its metabolites in different structures of the brain and in peripheral tissues.

METHODS

By using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) we measured the levels of cocaine and its major metabolites.

RESULTS

Our results demonstrate differences in the levels of cocaine after cocaine self-administration in the rat, with the highest concentration seen in the striatum and the lowest in the cerebellum. Cocaine metabolites determined in the rat brain remained at very low levels (benzoylecgonine), irrespectively of the brain area, whereas the norcocaine concentration varied from 1.56 μg/g (the nucleus accumbens) to 2.73 μg/g (the striatum).

CONCLUSION

A tandem LC/MS/MS is a valid method for evaluation of brain and peripheral levels of cocaine and its metabolites. Our results demonstrate brain area-dependent differences in the levels of cocaine after its self-administration in the rat. There were also differences in pharmacokinetic parameters among the brain areas and peripheral tissues following a bolus iv injection of cocaine to rats withdrawn from cocaine; among brain structures the slowest metabolic rate was detected for the striatum.

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) 5-HT(2A) receptor: association with inherent and cocaine-evoked behavioral disinhibition in rats

Alterations in the balance of functional activity within the serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] system are hypothesized to underlie impulse control. Cocaine-dependent subjects consistently show greater impulsivity relative to nondrug using control subjects. Preclinical studies suggest that the 5-HT(2A) receptor (5-HT(2A)R) contributes to the regulation of impulsive behavior and also mediates some of the behavioral effects of cocaine. We hypothesized that the selective 5-HT(2A)R antagonist M100907 would reduce inherent levels of impulsivity and attenuate impulsive responding induced by cocaine in two animal models of impulsivity, the differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) task and the one-choice serial reaction time (1-CSRT) task. M100907 reduced rates of responding in the DRL task and premature responding in the 1-CSRT task. Conversely, cocaine disrupted rates of responding in the DRL task and increased premature responding in the 1-CSRT task. M100907 attenuated cocaine-induced increases in specific markers of behavioral disinhibition in the DRL and 1-CSRT tasks. These results suggest that the 5-HT(2A)R regulates inherent impulsivity, and that blockade of the 5-HT(2A)R alleviates specific aspects of elevated levels of impulsivity induced by cocaine exposure. These data point to the 5-HT(2A)R as an important regulatory substrate in impulse control.

Small-molecule-dependent split aptamer ligation

Here we describe the first use of small-molecule binding to direct a chemical reaction between two nucleic acid strands. The reported reaction is a ligation between two fragments of a DNA split aptamer using strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Utilizing the split aptamer for cocaine, we demonstrate small-molecule-dependent ligation that is dose-dependent over a wide range of cocaine concentrations and is compatible with complex biological fluids such as human blood serum. Moreover, studies of split aptamer ligation at varying salt concentrations and using structurally similar analogues of cocaine have revealed new insight into the assembly and small-molecule binding properties of the cocaine split aptamer. The ability to translate the presence of a small-molecule target into the output of DNA ligation is anticipated to enable the development of new, broadly applicable small-molecule detection assays.

Differential effects of anesthetics on cocaine's pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects in brain

Most studies of the effect of cocaine on brain activity in laboratory animals are preformed under anesthesia, which could potentially affect the physiological responses to cocaine. Here we assessed the effects of two commonly used anesthetics [alpha-chloralose (alpha-CHLOR) and isofluorane (ISO)] on the effects of acute cocaine (1 mg/kg i.v.) on cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV), and tissue hemoglobin oxygenation (S(t)O(2)) using optical techniques and cocaine's pharmacokinetics (PK) and binding in the rat brain using (PET) and [(11)C]cocaine. We showed that acute cocaine at a dose abused by cocaine abusers decreased CBF, CBV and S(t)O(2) in rats anesthetized with ISO, whereas it increased these parameters in rats anesthetized with alpha-CHLOR. Importantly, in ISO-anesthetized animals cocaine-induced changes in CBF and S(t)O(2) were coupled, whereas for alpha-CHLOR these measures were uncoupled. Moreover, the clearance of [(11)C]cocaine from the brain was faster for ISO (peak half-clearance 15.8 +/- 2.8 min) than for alpha-CHLOR (27.5 +/- 0.6 min), and the ratio of specific to non-specific binding of [(11)C]cocaine in the brain was higher for ISO- (3.37 +/- 0.32) than for alpha-CHLOR-anesthetized rats (2.24 +/- 0.4). For both anesthetics, cocaine-induced changes in CBF followed the fast uptake of [(11)C]cocaine in the brain (peaking at approximately 2.5-4 min), but only for ISO did the duration of the CBV and S(t)O(2) changes correspond to the rate of [(11)C]cocaine's clearance from the brain. These results demonstrate that anesthetics influence cocaine's hemodynamic and metabolic changes in the brain, and its binding and PK, which highlights the need to better understand the interactions between anesthetics and pharmacological challenges in brain functional imaging studies.

The relationship between the locomotor response to a novel environment and behavioral disinhibition in rats

Behavioral disinhibition, a component of impulsivity, has been associated with cocaine abuse and dependence. To examine the relationship between behavioral disinhibition and vulnerability to cocaine use disorders, we employed the high responder (HR)/low responder (LR) rodent model, in which rats that exhibit high levels of activity in response to a novel environment are more sensitive to the effects of psychostimulants. In Experiment 1, performance under a differential reinforcement of low-rate (DRL) schedule was used as a measure of behavioral disinhibition in HR and LR rats. The HR rats displayed more behavioral disinhibition relative to LR rats on the DRL 20- and 35-s schedules. In Experiment 2, rats were divided into groups with high disinhibition (HD) and low disinhibition (LD) based on DRL 20-s performance, then challenged with cocaine. Rats characterized as HD and LD had similar DRL 20-s performance to rats characterized as HR and LR (Experiment 1), respectively, but did not differ in their response to cocaine. The results of this study suggest that the HR phenotype may also be characterized by greater behavioral disinhibition, and that the DRL task is a suitable animal model to investigate the role of behavioral disinhibition in vulnerability to the behavioral effects of cocaine.

Arteriovenous serum cocaine concentration difference after intravenous bolus injection and constant-rate infusions: relation to pharmacodynamic estimates in rats

We characterized the pharmacokinetics of cocaine using both arterial and venous serum data after a bolus dose (2 mg/kg) and two constant-rate infusions (12.24 and 24.48 microg/min) for 2 h in rats. A published behavioral effect was used to investigate the effects of arteriovenous serum concentration differences on pharmacodynamic estimates for the 2 mg/kg dose. Significant temporal arteriovenous serum cocaine and benzoylecgonine (the major metabolite) concentration differences existed after cocaine administrations. The AUCs for arterial serum data were greater than the AUCs for venous data, indicating that cocaine was metabolized more extensively in the venous sampling site. Cocaine's behavioral effect could be directly related to serum concentrations with no hysteresis observed between the effects and arterial or venous serum concentrations. The pharmacodynamic estimates derived from arterial serum data approximated those from the venous data due to the most decline of cocaine's effect occurred in the elimination phase during which serum cocaine concentrations were not significantly different between the two sampling sites.