The monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor tranylcypromine enhances nicotine self-administration in rats through a mechanism independent of MAO inhibition.

Our current study aims to evaluate the mechanisms of tranylcypromine (TCP)-mediated enhancement of nicotine self-administration. We replicated our previous findings which demonstrate that 1 h pretreatment with TCP (3 mg/kg, i.p.) enhances nicotine self-administration (7.5 µg/kg/inj, i.v.) when compared with vehicle-treated rodents. We tested whether TCP-mediated enhancement of nicotine self-administration was due to MAO inhibition or off-target effects by (i) extending the TCP pretreatment time from 1 to 20 h, and (ii) evaluating the role of the individual TCP stereoisomers in nicotine self-administration studies. While 20 h and (-)TCP pretreatment induced significant inhibition of MAO (60-90%), animals found nicotine only weakly reinforcing. Furthermore, while both (+) and (±)TCP treatment induced nearly 100% MAO inhibition, (+)TCP pretreated animals took longer to acquire nicotine self-administration compared to (±)TCP pretreated animals. Stable nicotine self-administration in (+)TCP pretreated animals was influenced by nicotinic receptor activation but not nicotine-paired cues. The opposite was found in (±)TCP pretreated animals. Treatment with (-) or (±)TCP increased dopamine and serotonin overflow, while the (+) and (±)TCP treatment enhanced monoamine overflow subsequent to nicotine. Together, our data suggests TCP enhancement of nicotine self-administration are mediated through mechanisms independent of MAO inhibition, including nicotine-paired cues and monoamine uptake inhibition.

Negative allosteric modulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors blocks nicotine self-administration in rats.

Drugs that antagonize nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) can be used to inhibit nicotine-induced behavior in both humans and animals. The aim of our experiments is to establish a proof-of-principle that antagonism of nAChRs by negative allosteric modulation can alter behavior in a relevant animal model of addiction, nicotine self-administration. We have identified a novel, negative allosteric modulator of nAChRs, UCI-30002 [N-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-naphthyl)-4-nitroaniline], with selectivity for the major neuronal nAChR subtypes over muscle-type nAChRs. After systemic administration, UCI-30002 significantly reduces nicotine self-administration in rats on both fixed ratio and progressive ratio schedules of reinforcement. The minimum effective dose that significantly alters nicotine self-administration corresponds to brain concentrations of UCI-30002 that produce at least 30% inhibition of the major neuronal nAChR subtypes measured in vitro. UCI-30002 has no effect on responding for food reinforcement in rats on either type of schedule, indicating that there is no effect on general responding or natural reward. UCI-30002 represents validation of the concept that negative allosteric modulators may have significant benefits as a strategy for treating nicotine addiction and encourages the development of subtype-selective modulators.