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Milella MS, D'Ottavio G, De Pirro S, Barra M, Caprioli D, Badiani A. Heroin and its metabolites: relevance to heroin use disorder. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:120. [PMID: 37031205 PMCID: PMC10082801 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02406-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Heroin is an opioid agonist commonly abused for its rewarding effects. Since its synthesis at the end of the nineteenth century, its popularity as a recreational drug has ebbed and flowed. In the last three decades, heroin use has increased again, and yet the pharmacology of heroin is still poorly understood. After entering the body, heroin is rapidly deacetylated to 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM), which is then deacetylated to morphine. Thus, drug addiction literature has long settled on the notion that heroin is little more than a pro-drug. In contrast to these former views, we will argue for a more complex interplay among heroin and its active metabolites: 6-MAM, morphine, and morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G). In particular, we propose that the complex temporal pattern of heroin effects results from the sequential, only partially overlapping, actions not only of 6-MAM, morphine, and M6G, but also of heroin per se, which, therefore, should not be seen as a mere brain-delivery system for its active metabolites. We will first review the literature concerning the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of heroin and its metabolites, then examine their neural and behavioral effects, and finally discuss the possible implications of these data for a better understanding of opioid reward and heroin addiction. By so doing we hope to highlight research topics to be investigated by future clinical and pre-clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Stanislaw Milella
- Toxicology Unit, Policlinico Umberto I University Hospital, Rome, Italy.
- Laboratory affiliated to the Institute Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti-Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | - Ginevra D'Ottavio
- Laboratory affiliated to the Institute Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti-Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
| | - Silvana De Pirro
- Laboratory affiliated to the Institute Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti-Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Sussex Addiction and Intervention Centre (SARIC), School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | | | - Daniele Caprioli
- Laboratory affiliated to the Institute Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti-Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
- Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.
| | - Aldo Badiani
- Laboratory affiliated to the Institute Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti-Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
- Sussex Addiction and Intervention Centre (SARIC), School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
- Fondazione Villa Maraini, Rome, Italy.
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Ma Q, Fu Y, Cao Z, Shao D, Song J, Sheng H, Yang L, Cui D, Chen M, Zhao F, Luo MH, Lai B, Zheng P. A Conditioning-Strengthened Circuit From CA1 of Dorsal Hippocampus to Basolateral Amygdala Participates in Morphine-Withdrawal Memory Retrieval. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:646. [PMID: 32760235 PMCID: PMC7372939 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Conditioned context-induced retrieval of drug withdrawal memory contributes to drug relapse. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is an important brain region that is involved in conditioned context-induced retrieval of morphine withdrawal memory. However, the upstream pathways of the activation of the BLA by conditioned context remains to be studied. The present results show that the CA1 of dorsal hippocampus is an upstream brain region of the activation of the BLA during conditioned context-induced morphine withdrawal memory retrieval; the indirect connection from the CA1 of dorsal hippocampus to the BLA is enhanced in mice with conditioned place aversion (CPA); the postrhinal cortex (POR) is a brain region that connects the CA1 of dorsal hippocampus and the activation of the BLA during conditioned context-induced retrieval of morphine-withdrawal memory. These results suggest that a conditioning-strengthened indirect circuit from the CA1 of dorsal hippocampus to the BLA through the POR participates in morphine withdrawal memory retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianqian Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Zhongshan Hospital, MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yali Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Zhongshan Hospital, MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zixuan Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Zhongshan Hospital, MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Da Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Zhongshan Hospital, MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiaojiao Song
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Zhongshan Hospital, MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Huan Sheng
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Zhongshan Hospital, MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Li Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Zhongshan Hospital, MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Dongyang Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Zhongshan Hospital, MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ming Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Zhongshan Hospital, MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fei Zhao
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
| | - Min-Hua Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Lai
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Zhongshan Hospital, MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ping Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Zhongshan Hospital, MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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3
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Andersen JM, Opdal SH, Müller CP, Boix F. CaMKII is activated in opioid induced conditioned place preference, but αCaMKII Thr286 autophosphorylation is not necessary for its establishment. Behav Brain Res 2020; 390:112676. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Revised: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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4
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Løseth GE, Eikemo M, Leknes S. Effects of opioid receptor stimulation and blockade on touch pleasantness: a double-blind randomised trial. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 14:411-422. [PMID: 30951167 PMCID: PMC6523440 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsz022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Revised: 02/21/2019] [Accepted: 03/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The μ-opioid receptor (MOR) system has long been thought to underpin the rewarding properties of pleasant touch. Numerous non-human animal studies implicate MORs in social behaviours involving touch, but little is currently known about MOR involvement in human touch reward. Here, we employed a bi-directional pharmacological double-blind crossover design to assess the role of the human MOR system for touch pleasantness and motivation. Forty-nine male volunteers received 10 mg per-oral morphine, 50 mg per-oral naltrexone and placebo before being brushed on their forearm at three different velocities (0.3, 3 and 30 cm/s). In a touch liking task, pleasantness ratings were recorded after each 15 s brushing trial. In a touch wanting task, participants actively manipulated trial duration through key presses. As expected, 3 cm/s was the preferred velocity, producing significantly higher pleasantness ratings and wanting scores than the other stimuli. Contrary to our hypothesis, MOR drug manipulations did not significantly affect either touch pleasantness or wanting. The null effects were supported by post hoc Bayesian analyses indicating that the models with no drug effect were more than 25 times more likely than the alternative models given the data. We conclude that μ-opioid signalling is unlikely to underpin non-affiliative touch reward in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guro E Løseth
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Blindern, N Oslo, Norway
| | - Marie Eikemo
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Blindern, N Oslo, Norway.,Department of Diagnostic Physics, Oslo University Hospital, Nydalen, N Oslo, Norway
| | - Siri Leknes
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Blindern, N Oslo, Norway
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5
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The active heroin metabolite 6-acetylmorphine has robust reinforcing effects as assessed by self-administration in the rat. Neuropharmacology 2018; 150:192-199. [PMID: 30578794 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.12.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Revised: 12/17/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that at least some of the behavioral effects of heroin might be mediated by its active metabolite 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM). The aim of the present study was to investigate the reinforcing effects of 6-AM and its role in mediating those of heroin. We used an intravenous self-administration procedure in male Sprague-Dawley rats including four phases: acquisition, extinction, reinstatement of drug-seeking, and re-acquisition. Independent groups of rats readily learned to self-administer equimolar doses (0.135 μmol/kg) of either 6-AM (44.3 μg/kg) or heroin (50 μg/kg). Under a fixed ratio 1 (FR1) schedule of reinforcement, the rate of responding was the same for 6-AM and heroin, but it was significantly higher for 6-AM than for heroin under a FR2 schedule. A non-contingent infusion ('priming') of 0.068 μmol/kg of either 6-AM or heroin reinstated non-reinforced drug-seeking (relapse). The rats readily re-acquired self-administration behaviour when given access to one of two doses (0.068 and 0.135 μmol/kg) of 6-AM or heroin. Pretreatment with a specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) against 6-AM blocked the priming effect of 6-AM, and modified the rate of lever-pressing on re-acquisition of 6-AM self-administration in a manner compatible with a shift to the right of the dose-effect curve. The mAb did not affect heroin responding. The present results show that 6-AM possesses reinforcing effects similar to those of heroin. The lack of effect of 6-AM mAb on heroin priming and heroin self-administration calls for further studies to clarify the role of heroin and its metabolites in heroin reward. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'Opioid Neuropharmacology: Advances in treating pain and opioid addiction'.
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6
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Maskell PD, Wilson NE, Seetohul LN, Crichton ML, Beer LJ, Drummond G, De Paoli G. Postmortem tissue distribution of morphine and its metabolites in a series of heroin-related deaths. Drug Test Anal 2018; 11:292-304. [DOI: 10.1002/dta.2492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2018] [Revised: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Peter D. Maskell
- School of Science, Engineering and Technology; Abertay University; Dundee DD11HG UK
| | | | - L. Nitin Seetohul
- School of Science and Technology; Nottingham Trent University; Nottingham UK
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7
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Løseth GE, Eikemo M, Isager P, Holmgren J, Laeng B, Vindenes V, Hjørnevik T, Leknes S. Morphine reduced perceived anger from neutral and implicit emotional expressions. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2018; 91:123-131. [PMID: 29550675 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.02.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2017] [Revised: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The μ-opioid system modulates responses to pain and psychosocial stress and mediates non-social and social reward. In humans, the μ-opioid agonist morphine can increase overt attention to the eye-region and visual exploration of faces with neutral expressions. However, little is known about how the human μ-opioid system influences sensitivity to and appraisal of subtle and explicit cues of social threats and reward. Here, we examined the effects of selective μ-opioid stimulation on perception of anger and happiness in faces with explicit, neutral or implicit emotion expressions. Sixty-three healthy adults (32 females) attended two sessions where they received either placebo or 10 mg per oral morphine in randomised order under double-blind conditions. Based on the known μ-opioid reduction of pain and discomfort, as well as reports suggesting that the non-specific partial agonist buprenorphine or the non-specific antagonist naltrexone affect appraisal of social emotional stimuli, we hypothesised that morphine would reduce threat sensitivity and enhance perception of happy facial expressions. While overall perception of others' happiness was unaffected by morphine treatment, morphine reduced perception of anger in stimuli with neutral and implicit expressions without affecting perception of explicit anger. This effect was statistically unrelated to gender, subjective drug effects, mood and autism trait measures. The finding that a low dose of μ-agonist reduced the propensity to perceive anger in photos with subtle facial expressions is consistent with the notion that μ-opioids mediate social confidence and reduce sensitivity to threat cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guro E Løseth
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway.
| | - Marie Eikemo
- Department of Diagnostic Physics, Division of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Norway; Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
| | - Peder Isager
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Bruno Laeng
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Vigdis Vindenes
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
| | - Trine Hjørnevik
- Department of Diagnostic Physics, Division of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
| | - Siri Leknes
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway
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8
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Sweet taste pleasantness is modulated by morphine and naltrexone. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2016; 233:3711-3723. [PMID: 27538675 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-016-4403-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2016] [Accepted: 08/01/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rodent models highlight the key role of μ-opioid receptor (MOR) signaling in palatable food consumption. In humans, however, the effects of MOR stimulation on eating and food liking remain unclear. OBJECTIVES Here, we tested sweet pleasantness experience in humans following MOR drug manipulations. We hypothesized that behaviors regulated by the endogenous MOR system would be enhanced by MOR agonism and decreased by antagonism. In line with rodent findings, we expected the strongest drug effects for the sweetest (high-calorie) sucrose stimuli. As very sweet stimuli are considered aversive by many people (called sweet dislikers), we also assessed whether MOR manipulations affect pleasantness ratings of sucrose-water stimuli differently depending on subjective and objective value. METHODS In a bidirectional psychopharmacological cross-over study, 49 healthy men underwent a sweet taste paradigm following double-blind administration of the MOR agonist morphine, placebo, and the opioid antagonist naltrexone. RESULTS As hypothesized, MOR stimulation with morphine increased pleasantness of the sweetest of five sucrose solutions, without enhancing pleasantness of the lower-sucrose solutions. For opioid antagonism, an opposite pattern was observed for the sweetest drink only. The observed drug effects on pleasantness of the sweetest drink did not differ between sweet likers and dislikers. CONCLUSIONS The bidirectional effect of agonist and antagonist treatment aligns with rodent findings showing that MOR manipulations most strongly affect the highest-calorie foods. We speculate that the MOR system promotes survival in part by increasing concordance between the objective (caloric) and subjective (hedonic) value of food stimuli, so that feeding behavior becomes more focused on the richest food available.
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9
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Wu X, Zhao N, Bai F, Li C, Liu C, Wei J, Zong W, Yang L, Ryabinin AE, Ma Y, Wang J. Morphine-induced conditioned place preference in rhesus monkeys: Resistance to inactivation of insula and extinction. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2016; 131:192-200. [PMID: 27101734 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2016.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2015] [Revised: 03/07/2016] [Accepted: 04/16/2016] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Drug addicts experience strong craving episodes in response to drug-associated cues. Attenuating these responses using pharmacological or behavioral approaches could aid recovery from addiction. Cue-induced drug seeking can be modeled using the conditioned place preference procedure (CPP). Our previous work showed that conditioned place preference (CPP) can be induced by administration of increasing doses of morphine in rhesus monkeys. Here, we investigated whether expression of morphine-induced CPP can be attenuated by inhibiting activity of insular cortex or by repeated unreinforced exposures to the CPP test. The insula has been demonstrated to be involved in addiction to several drugs of abuse. To test its role in morphine CPP, bilateral cannulae were implanted into the insula in seven adult monkeys. The CPP was established using a biased apparatus by intramuscular injections of morphine at increasing doses (1.5, 3.0 and 4.5mg/kg) for each monkey. After the monkeys established morphine CPP, their insulae were reversibly inactivated by bilateral microinjection with 5% lidocaine (40μl) prior to the post-conditioning test (expression) of CPP using a within-subject design. The microinjections of lidocaine failed to affect CPP expression when compared to saline injections. We subsequently investigated morphine-associated memory during six episodes of CPP tests performed in these monkeys over the following 75.0±0.2months. While the preference score showed a declining trend with repeated testing, morphine-induced CPP was maintained even on the last test performed at 75months post-conditioning. This observation indicated strong resistance of morphine-induced memories to extinction in rhesus monkeys. Although these data do not confirm involvement of insula in morphine-induced CPP, our observation that drug-associated memories can be maintained over six drug-free years following initial experience with morphine has important implications for treatment of drug addiction using extinction therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- XuJun Wu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Ning Zhao
- Second Department of Neurosurgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
| | - Fan Bai
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - ChuanYu Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - CiRong Liu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - JingKuan Wei
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Wei Zong
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - LiXin Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Andrey E Ryabinin
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - YuanYe Ma
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - JianHong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
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Lax NC, George DC, Ignatz C, Kolber BJ. The mGluR5 antagonist fenobam induces analgesic conditioned place preference in mice with spared nerve injury. PLoS One 2014; 9:e103524. [PMID: 25061818 PMCID: PMC4111598 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2014] [Accepted: 07/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Antagonists of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) have the potential to act as analgesic drugs that may help alleviate chronic pain. This study was done to look at the possible rewarding properties of the mGluR5 antagonist, fenobam, in a cognitive assay. Analgesic conditioned place preference (aCPP) was used to examine the effects of fenobam (30 mg/kg) and the prototypical mGluR5 antagonist, MPEP, and these effects were compared to those of a drug with known analgesic properties, morphine (10 mg/kg). In each experiment, one group of mice received spared nerve injury (SNI) surgery to model chronic pain; the other group received a control sham surgery. Both fenobam and MPEP induced preference in the SNI mice, such that SNI mice spent significantly more time in the mGluR5 antagonist-paired chamber compared to a vehicle-paired chamber. No such preference developed for sham mice. Morphine induced preference in male and female mice in both the SNI and sham groups. The results showed that fenobam and MPEP likely reduced on-going distress in the SNI mice, causing them to prefer the chamber paired with the drug compared to the vehicle-paired chamber. Since sham animals did not prefer the drug-paired chamber, these data demonstrate that mGluR5 antagonism is non-rewarding in the absence of pain-like injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil C. Lax
- Department of Biological Sciences and Chronic Pain Research Consortium, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - David C. George
- Department of Biological Sciences and Chronic Pain Research Consortium, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Christopher Ignatz
- Department of Biological Sciences and Chronic Pain Research Consortium, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Benedict J. Kolber
- Department of Biological Sciences and Chronic Pain Research Consortium, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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11
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Morphine addiction in non-human primates using rhesus monkeys. Zool Res 2013; 33:89-91. [DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1141.2012.01089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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Nguyen AT, Marquez P, Hamid A, Lutfy K. The role of mu opioid receptors in psychomotor stimulation and conditioned place preference induced by morphine-6-glucuronide. Eur J Pharmacol 2012; 682:86-91. [PMID: 22374262 PMCID: PMC3319697 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2012.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2011] [Revised: 02/03/2012] [Accepted: 02/14/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G), a metabolite of morphine, induces reward and psychomotor stimulation but the role of the mu opioid receptor in these actions of the drug is not fully characterized. Thus, using mice lacking exon-2 of the mu opioid receptor and their wild-type littermates/controls, we determined the role of this receptor in psychomotor stimulation, sensitization, and conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by M6G. For comparison, we also assessed the role of the mu opioid receptor in the rewarding action of morphine. For the measurement of locomotor activity and sensitization, mice were habituated to motor activity chambers for 1h, then injected with M6G (10mg/kg) and locomotor activity was recorded for an additional 1h. The same treatment was given for five days and mice were tested for sensitization a week later. For the CPP experiments, mice were tested for baseline place preference on day 1, then received single or repeated alternate-day saline/drug or drug/saline conditioning and tested for CPP the following day. Mice were also tested for CPP under a drugged state. M6G induced psychomotor stimulation, a response that was enhanced upon repeated administration of the drug, showing that locomotor sensitization developed to the motor stimulatory action of M6G. However, M6G induced a weaker CPP response compared to morphine. None of these actions of M6G was detected in mice lacking the mu opioid receptor. Together, the current results suggest that M6G induces psychomotor stimulation and a weaker rewarding action via the mu opioid receptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander T. Nguyen
- Dept. of Pharm. Sci., Col of Pharmacy, Western Univ. of Health Sci., Pomona, CA 91766
| | - Paul Marquez
- Dept. of Pharm. Sci., Col of Pharmacy, Western Univ. of Health Sci., Pomona, CA 91766
- Dept. of Endocrinology, Charles Drew Univ. of Medicine; Los Angeles, CA, 90059, USA
| | - Abdul Hamid
- Dept. of Endocrinology, Charles Drew Univ. of Medicine; Los Angeles, CA, 90059, USA
| | - Kabirullah Lutfy
- Dept. of Pharm. Sci., Col of Pharmacy, Western Univ. of Health Sci., Pomona, CA 91766
- Dept. of Endocrinology, Charles Drew Univ. of Medicine; Los Angeles, CA, 90059, USA
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Wang J, Wu X, Li C, Wei J, Jiang H, Liu C, Yu C, Carlson S, Hu X, Ma H, Duan W, Ma Y. Effect of morphine on conditioned place preference in rhesus monkeys. Addict Biol 2012; 17:539-46. [PMID: 21309951 DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-1600.2010.00289.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In rodents, a conditioned place preference (CPP) can be induced by morphine. In the current study, we designed a biased place conditioning paradigm to test the rewarding effects of morphine in freely moving rhesus monkeys. Five monkeys were first placed in three serial rooms with the doors open between them for three days. After this habituation period, during which baseline preference for each of the two end rooms was measured, CPP conditioning occurred when the monkeys were injected intramuscularly with morphine at an increasing dose (1.5, 3, 4.5 mg/kg) before they entered the non-preferred room and on alternate days, with saline before they entered the preferred room. Morphine and saline treatment lasted for six days, respectively. CPP was tested 24 hours after the end of CPP training. The result showed that in all five monkeys, CPP was induced by the morphine treatment. The preference lasted for at least 15.3 ± 1.7 months.
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Affiliation(s)
- JianHong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND The metabolism of opioids is critical to consider for multiple reasons. The most commonly prescribed opioid agents often have metabolites that are active and are the source of both analgesic activity and an increased incidence of adverse events. Many opioids are metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzymes. Polymorphisms in cytochrome P450 genes and inhibition or induction of cytochrome P450 enzymes by coadministered drugs may significantly impact the systemic concentration of opioids and their metabolites and the associated efficacy or adverse events. METHODS This is a narrative review of the metabolism of various opioids that will highlight the impact of their active metabolites, and the potential impact of cytochrome P450 activity on analgesic activity. RESULTS An understanding of "opioid metabolic machinery," cytochrome P450 activity, and drug-drug interactions in the context of opioid selection may benefit clinicians and patients alike. CONCLUSIONS A greater appreciation of the metabolism of commonly prescribed opioid analgesics and the impact of their active metabolites on efficacy and safety may aid prescribers in tailoring care for optimal outcomes.
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15
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Vindenes V, Pettersen BS, Gottås A, Christiansen NL, Boix F, Mørland J. Different Effects on Dopamine Release in Nucleus Accumbens in Mice by the Morphine Metabolites Morphine-6-Glucuronide and Morphine-3-Glucuronide. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 2009; 105:357-60. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-7843.2009.00451.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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16
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Interactions between morphine and the morphine-glucuronides measured by conditioned place preference and locomotor activity. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2009; 93:1-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2009.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2008] [Revised: 03/25/2009] [Accepted: 03/30/2009] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Vindenes V, Handal M, Ripel A, Thaulow CH, Vindenes HB, Boix F, Mørland J. Different time schedules affect conditioned place preference after morphine and morphine-6-glucuronide administration. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2008; 89:374-83. [PMID: 18308383 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2008.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2007] [Revised: 12/20/2007] [Accepted: 01/16/2008] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
A number of studies have investigated the reward potential of morphine, using the Conditioned Place Preference (CPP) procedure. The morphine-metabolite morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) is known to have analgesic activity comparable to morphine, but its reward properties are unclear. An unbiased two compartment counterbalanced procedure was used to investigate the induction of CPP by morphine or M6G in C57BL/6J-Bom mice using different conditioning schedules. The conditioning sessions took place either immediately after the injections and lasted either 20 or 40 min, or were delayed until 15 min after the injections and lasted for 20 min. Locomotor activity was recorded during the conditioning sessions. Morphine induced CPP when the 20-minute conditioning sessions were conducted directly after the injections, but not when they were delayed. M6G induced CPP when the 20-minute conditioning sessions were delayed, but not when the animals were conditioned directly after the injections. Neither morphine nor M6G induced CPP after 40-minute direct conditioning sessions. M6G had a biphasic effect on locomotor activity, with an initial decrease followed by excitation. This study indicates that M6G has rewarding effects, and might contribute to the development of addiction after heroin or morphine administration. However, in any attempts to explore the reward properties of M6G, the choice of time schedule should be carefully considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vigdis Vindenes
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Forensic Toxicology and Drug Abuse, Nydalen, Oslo, Norway.
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18
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Abstract
This paper is the 29th consecutive installment of the annual review of research concerning the endogenous opioid system, now spanning 30 years of research. It summarizes papers published during 2006 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 (Section 2), and the roles of these opioid peptides and receptors in pain and analgesia (Section 3); stress and social status (Section 4); tolerance and dependence (Section 5); learning and memory (Section 6); eating and drinking (Section 7); alcohol and drugs of abuse (Section 8); sexual activity and hormones, pregnancy, development and endocrinology (Section 9); mental illness and mood (Section 10); seizures and neurological disorders (Section 11); electrical-related activity and neurophysiology (Section 12); general activity and locomotion (Section 13); gastrointestinal, renal and hepatic functions (Section 14); cardiovascular responses (Section 15); respiration and thermoregulation (Section 16); and immunological responses (Section 17).
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Bodnar
- Department of Psychology and Neuropsychology Doctoral Sub-Program, Queens College, City University of New York, CUNY, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367, United States.
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Brielmaier JM, McDonald CG, Smith RF. Nicotine place preference in a biased conditioned place preference design. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2007; 89:94-100. [PMID: 18086490 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2007.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2007] [Revised: 11/14/2007] [Accepted: 11/15/2007] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Conditioned place preference (CPP) is often more effectively produced with nicotine using a biased procedure. Interpretation of results can be problematic, however, given that doses that produce CPP in rats have acute anxiolytic and residual anxiogenic effects. We tested three groups of male rats in a biased, 2-chambered apparatus. Over eight conditioning days, one group (paired group) received four alternating injections of nicotine paired with the non-preferred (white) chamber and of saline in the preferred (black) chamber. A second group (counterbalanced group) received two nicotine injections each paired with the black and white chambers, with saline pairings on alternate days. A third group (saline control) received saline injections paired with both chambers. Following conditioning, the paired group spent significantly more time in the initially non-preferred chamber relative to saline-treated controls, suggesting CPP. The counterbalanced group did not show a significant preference shift, providing evidence that the observed preference shift in the paired group was not due to a drug-induced unconditioned reduction in aversion. Although this finding is consistent with the notion that nicotine produced CPP through its rewarding effects, we cannot discount the possibility of a conditioned reduction in aversion to the non-preferred chamber. For the paired group, a negative correlation was found between time spent in the white chamber before conditioning and preference shift following conditioning, suggesting that animals showing greater initial aversion to a non-preferred context are more likely to form CPP.
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20
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Tzschentke TM. Measuring reward with the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm: update of the last decade. Addict Biol 2007; 12:227-462. [PMID: 17678505 DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-1600.2007.00070.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1000] [Impact Index Per Article: 58.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Conditioned place preference (CPP) continues to be one of the most popular models to study the motivational effects of drugs and non-drug treatments in experimental animals. This is obvious from a steady year-to-year increase in the number of publications reporting the use this model. Since the compilation of the preceding review in 1998, more than 1000 new studies using place conditioning have been published, and the aim of the present review is to provide an overview of these recent publications. There are a number of trends and developments that are obvious in the literature of the last decade. First, as more and more knockout and transgenic animals become available, place conditioning is increasingly used to assess the motivational effects of drugs or non-drug rewards in genetically modified animals. Second, there is a still small but growing literature on the use of place conditioning to study the motivational aspects of pain, a field of pre-clinical research that has so far received little attention, because of the lack of appropriate animal models. Third, place conditioning continues to be widely used to study tolerance and sensitization to the rewarding effects of drugs induced by pre-treatment regimens. Fourth, extinction/reinstatement procedures in place conditioning are becoming increasingly popular. This interesting approach is thought to model certain aspects of relapse to addictive behavior and has previously almost exclusively been studied in drug self-administration paradigms. It has now also become established in the place conditioning literature and provides an additional and technically easy approach to this important phenomenon. The enormous number of studies to be covered in this review prevented in-depth discussion of many methodological, pharmacological or neurobiological aspects; to a large extent, the presentation of data had to be limited to a short and condensed summary of the most relevant findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M Tzschentke
- Grünenthal GmbH, Preclinical Research and Development, Department of Pharmacology, Aachen, Germany.
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