Acute Ethanol Modulates Synaptic Inhibition in the Basolateral Amygdala via Rapid NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation and Regulates Anxiety-Like Behavior in Rats.

Chronic alcohol exposure leads to a neuroinflammatory response involving activation of the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and proinflammatory cytokine production. Acute ethanol (EtOH) exposure activates GABAergic synapses in the central and basolateral amygdala (BLA) ex vivo, but whether this rapid modulation of synaptic inhibition is because of an acute inflammatory response and alters anxiety-like behavior in male and female animals is not known. Here, we tested the hypotheses that acute EtOH facilitates inhibitory synaptic transmission in the BLA by activating the NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent acute inflammatory response, that the alcohol-induced increase in inhibition is cell type and sex dependent, and that acute EtOH in the BLA reduces anxiety-like behavior. Acute EtOH application at a binge-like concentration (22-44 mm) stimulated synaptic GABA release from putative parvalbumin (PV) interneurons onto BLA principal neurons in ex vivo brain slices from male, but not female, rats. The EtOH facilitation of synaptic inhibition was blocked by antagonists of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), the NLRP3 inflammasome, and interleukin-1 receptors, suggesting it was mediated by a rapid local neuroinflammatory response in the BLA. In vivo, bilateral injection of EtOH directly into the BLA produced an acute concentration-dependent reduction in anxiety-like behavior in male but not female rats. These findings demonstrate that acute EtOH in the BLA regulates anxiety-like behavior in a sex-dependent manner and suggest that this effect is associated with presynaptic facilitation of parvalbumin-expressing interneuron inputs to BLA principal neurons via a local NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent neuroimmune response.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Chronic alcohol exposure produces a neuroinflammatory response, which contributes to alcohol-associated pathologies. Acute alcohol administration increases inhibitory synaptic signaling in the brain, but the mechanism for the rapid alcohol facilitation of inhibitory circuits is unknown. We found that acute ethanol at binge-like concentrations in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) facilitates GABA release from parvalbumin-expressing (PV) interneuron synapses onto principal neurons in ex vivo brain slices from male rats and that intra-BLA ethanol reduces anxiety-like behavior in vivo in male rats, but not female rats. The ethanol (EtOH) facilitation of inhibition in the BLA is mediated by Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation and proinflammatory IL-1ß signaling, which suggests a rapid NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent neuroimmune cascade that plays a critical role in acute alcohol intoxication.

Adolescent Alcohol Exposure Produces Sex-Specific Long-term Hyperalgesia via Changes in Central Amygdala Circuit Function.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to alcohol during adolescence produces many effects that last well into adulthood. Acute alcohol use is analgesic, and people living with pain report drinking alcohol to reduce pain, but chronic alcohol use produces increases in pain sensitivity. METHODS: We tested the acute and lasting effects of chronic adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) exposure on pain-related behavioral and brain changes in male and female rats. We also tested the long-term effects of AIE on synaptic transmission in midbrain (ventrolateral periaqueductal gray [vlPAG])-projecting central amygdala (CeA) neurons using whole-cell electrophysiology. Finally, we used circuit-based approaches (DREADDs [designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs]) to test the role of vlPAG-projecting CeA neurons in mediating AIE effects on pain-related outcomes. RESULTS: AIE produced long-lasting hyperalgesia in male, but not female, rats. Similarly, AIE led to a reduction in synaptic strength of medial CeA cells that project to the vlPAG in male, but not female, rats. Challenge with an acute painful stimulus (i.e., formalin) in adulthood produced expected increases in pain reactivity, and this effect was exaggerated in male rats with a history of AIE. Finally, CeA-vlPAG circuit activation rescued AIE-induced hypersensitivity in male rats. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are the first, to our knowledge, to show long-lasting sex-dependent effects of adolescent alcohol exposure on pain-related behaviors and brain circuits in adult animals. This work has implications for understanding the long-term effects of underage alcohol drinking on pain-related behaviors in humans.

Quantitative Analysis of Gene Expression in RNAscope-processed Brain Tissue.

Molecular characterization of different cell types in rodent brains is a widely used and important approach in neuroscience. Fluorescent detection of transcripts using RNAscope (ACDBio) has quickly became a standard in situ hybridization (ISH) approach. Its sensitivity and specificity allow for the simultaneous detection of between three and forty-eight low abundance mRNAs in single cells (i.e., multiplexing or hiplexing), and, in contrast to other ISH techniques, it is performed in a shorter amount of time. Manual quantification of transcripts is a laborious and time-consuming task even for small portions of a larger tissue section. Herein, we present a protocol for creating high-quality images for quantification of RNAscope-labeled neurons in the rat brain. This protocol uses custom-made scripts within the open-source software QuPath to create an automated workflow for the careful optimization and validation of cell detection parameters. Moreover, we describe a method to derive mRNA signal thresholds using negative controls. This protocol and automated workflow may help scientists to reliably and reproducibly prepare and analyze rodent brain tissue for cell type characterization using RNAscope. Graphical abstract.

Melanocortin-4 receptor signaling in the central amygdala mediates chronic inflammatory pain effects on nociception.

Chronic inflammatory pain represents one of the largest subsets of chronic pain diagnoses, which affect nearly a quarter of individuals in the United States and cost nearly $600 billion dollars annually. Chronic pain leads to persistent sensory hypersensitivities, as well as emotional and cognitive disturbances. Evidence suggests that melanocortin 4 receptors (MC4Rs) mediate pain-signaling and pain-like behaviors via actions at various nodes in the pain-neural axis, but the field lacks a complete understanding of the potential role of MC4Rs in chronic inflammatory pain in males and females. The central amygdala (CeA) expresses high quantities of MC4R and receives pain-related information from the periphery, and in vivo CeA manipulations alter nociceptive behavior in pain-naïve and in animals with chronic pain. Here, we tested the hypothesis that MC4Rs in the CeA modulate thermal nociception and mechanical sensitivity, as well as pain avoidance, in male and female Wistar rats, using a model of chronic inflammatory pain (Complete Freud's Adjuvant; CFA). First, we report that CFA produces long-lasting hyperalgesia in adult male and female Wistar rats, and long-lasting pain avoidance in male Wistar rats. Second, we report that MC4R antagonism in the CeA reduces thermal nociception and mechanical sensitivity in male and female Wistar rats treated with CFA. Finally, we report that MC4R antagonism in the CeA reduces pain avoidance in male, and that this effect is not due to drug effects on locomotor activity. Our results indicate that a model of chronic inflammatory pain produces long-lasting increases in pain-like behaviors in adult male and female Wistar rats, and that antagonism of MC4Rs in the CeA reverses those effects.

Chronic nicotine increases alcohol self-administration in adult male Wistar rats.

RATIONALE: Alcohol and nicotine co-dependence is common in humans, and nicotine increases alcohol drinking in humans without alcohol use disorder (AUD). Nevertheless, there is little basic research on the interactions between the reinforcing effects of these two drugs. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chronic nicotine injections on oral alcohol self-administration in alcohol non-dependent rats. METHODS: After stable alcohol self-administration was reached (baseline) and a period without alcohol access, adult male rats were treated with chronic nicotine or saline injections for 105 days during which time they were tested intermittently for alcohol self-administration. There were 3 experimental groups: (1) saline, rats treated with saline for 105 days; (2) early nicotine, rats treated with nicotine for 70 days, and then with saline for 35 days; and (3) late nicotine: rats treated with saline for 35 days, and then with nicotine for 70 days. RESULTS: Our results indicate that (1) chronic nicotine increases alcohol consumption regardless of whether exposure to alcohol was interrupted (early nicotine) or not (late nicotine) before the start of nicotine treatment, (2) the number of alcohol reinforcements correlates to blood-alcohol levels, and (3) alcohol self-administration rapidly decreases when nicotine is no longer available (early nicotine). CONCLUSIONS: These discoveries may have clinical implications in social drinkers that use nicotine products, in that chronic nicotine can escalate alcohol drinking and cessation of nicotine exposure may decrease alcohol use.

Astrocytic Mechanisms Involving Kynurenic Acid Control Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol-Induced Increases in Glutamate Release in Brain Reward-Processing Areas.

The reinforcing effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in rats and monkeys, and the reinforcement-related dopamine-releasing effects of THC in rats, can be attenuated by increasing endogenous levels of kynurenic acid (KYNA) through systemic administration of the kynurenine 3-monooxygenase inhibitor, Ro 61-8048. KYNA is a negative allosteric modulator of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7nAChRs) and is synthesized and released by astroglia, which express functional α7nAChRs and cannabinoid CB1 receptors (CB1Rs). Here, we tested whether these presumed KYNA autoreceptors (α7nAChRs) and CB1Rs regulate glutamate release. We used in vivo microdialysis and electrophysiology in rats, RNAscope in situ hybridization in brain slices, and primary culture of rat cortical astrocytes. Acute systemic administration of THC increased extracellular levels of glutamate in the nucleus accumbens shell (NAcS), ventral tegmental area (VTA), and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). THC also reduced extracellular levels of KYNA in the NAcS. These THC effects were prevented by administration of Ro 61-8048 or the CB1R antagonist, rimonabant. THC increased the firing activity of glutamatergic pyramidal neurons projecting from the mPFC to the NAcS or to the VTA in vivo. These effects were averted by pretreatment with Ro 61-8048. In vitro, THC elicited glutamate release from cortical astrocytes (on which we demonstrated co-localization of the CB1Rs and α7nAChR mRNAs), and this effect was prevented by KYNA and rimonabant. These results suggest a key role of astrocytes in interactions between the endocannabinoid system, kynurenine pathway, and glutamatergic neurotransmission, with ramifications for the pathophysiology and treatment of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.

Choice between delayed food and immediate opioids in rats: treatment effects and individual differences.

RATIONALE: Addiction involves maladaptive choice behavior in which immediate drug effects are valued more than delayed nondrug rewards. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: To model this behavior and extend our earlier work with the prescription opioid oxycodone, we allowed rats to choose between immediate intravenous delivery of the short-acting opioid remifentanil and delayed delivery of highly palatable food pellets. Treatment drugs were tested on a baseline where remifentanil was preferred over food. RESULTS: Treatment with a high dose of the opioid antagonist naltrexone decreased but did not reverse the preference for remifentanil. Treatment with the serotonin 5-HT2C agonist lorcaserin decreased remifentanil and food self-administration nonselectively. Across conditions in which the alternative to delayed food was either a moderate dose of oxycodone, a moderate or high dose of remifentanil, a smaller more immediate delivery of food, or timeout with no primary reinforcement, choice was determined by both the length of the delay and the nature of the alternative option. Delayed food was discounted most steeply when the alternative was a high dose of remifentanil, which was preferred over food when food was delayed by 30 s or more. Within-subject comparisons showed no evidence for trait-like impulsivity or sensitivity to delay across these conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Choice was determined more by the current contingencies of reinforcement than by innate individual differences. This finding suggests that people might develop steep delay-discounting functions because of the contingencies in their environment, and it supports the use of contingency management to enhance the relative value of delayed nondrug reinforcers.

Attenuating Nicotine Reinforcement and Relapse by Enhancing Endogenous Brain Levels of Kynurenic Acid in Rats and Squirrel Monkeys.

The currently available antismoking medications have limited efficacy and often fail to prevent relapse. Thus, there is a pressing need for newer, more effective treatment strategies. Recently, we demonstrated that enhancing endogenous levels of kynurenic acid (KYNA, a neuroinhibitory product of tryptophan metabolism) counteracts the rewarding effects of cannabinoids by acting as a negative allosteric modulator of α7 nicotinic receptors (α7nAChRs). As the effects of KYNA on cannabinoid reward involve nicotinic receptors, in the present study we used rat and squirrel monkey models of reward and relapse to examine the possibility that enhancing KYNA can counteract the effects of nicotine. To assess specificity, we also examined models of cocaine reward and relapse in monkeys. KYNA levels were enhanced by administering the kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO) inhibitor, Ro 61-8048. Treatment with Ro 61-8048 decreased nicotine self-administration in rats and monkeys, but did not affect cocaine self-administration. In rats, Ro 61-8048 reduced the ability of nicotine to induce dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens shell, a brain area believed to underlie nicotine reward. Perhaps most importantly, Ro 61-8048 prevented relapse-like behavior when abstinent rats or monkeys were reexposed to nicotine and/or cues that had previously been associated with nicotine. Ro 61-8048 was also effective in monkey models of cocaine relapse. All of these effects of Ro 61-8048 in monkeys, but not in rats, were reversed by pretreatment with a positive allosteric modulator of α7nAChRs. These findings suggest that KMO inhibition may be a promising new approach for the treatment of nicotine addiction.

Choice between delayed food and immediate oxycodone in rats.

RATIONALE: The choice to seek immediate drug effects instead of more meaningful but delayed rewards is a defining feature of addiction. OBJECTIVES: To develop a rodent model of this behavior, we allowed rats to choose between immediate intravenous delivery of the prescription opioid oxycodone (50 µg/kg) and delayed delivery of palatable food pellets. RESULTS: Rats preferred food at delays up to 30 s, but they chose oxycodone and food equally at 60-s delay and preferred oxycodone over food at 120-s delay. Comparison of food-drug choice, food-only, and drug-only conditions indicated that food availability decreased drug intake, but drug availability increased food intake. In the food-only condition, food was effective as a reinforcer even when delayed by 120 s. Pre-session feeding with chow slowed acquisition of food and drug self-administration, but did not affect choice. To establish procedures for testing potential anti-addiction medications, noncontingent pre-treatment with oxycodone or naltrexone (analogous to substitution and antagonist therapies, respectively) were tested on a baseline in which oxycodone was preferred over delayed food. Naltrexone pre-treatment decreased drug intake and increased food intake. Oxycodone pre-treatment decreased drug intake, but also produced extended periods with no food or drug responding. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that the contingencies that induce preference for drugs over more meaningful but less immediate rewards in humans can be modeled in rodents, and they suggest that the model could be useful for assessing the therapeutic potential of treatments and exploring the underlying behavioral and neural mechanisms involved in addiction.

The Novel Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 2 Positive Allosteric Modulator, AZD8529, Decreases Nicotine Self-Administration and Relapse in Squirrel Monkeys.

BACKGROUND: Based on rodent studies, group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR2 and mGluR3) were suggested as targets for addiction treatment. However, LY379268 and other group II agonists do not discriminate between the mainly presynaptic inhibitory mGluR2 (the proposed treatment target) and mGluR3. These agonists also produce tolerance over repeated administration and are no longer considered for addiction treatment. Here, we determined the effects of AZD8529, a selective positive allosteric modulator of mGluR2, on abuse-related effects of nicotine in squirrel monkeys and rats. METHODS: We first assessed modulation of mGluR2 function by AZD8529 using functional in vitro assays in membranes prepared from a cell line expressing human mGluR2 and in primate brain slices. We then determined AZD8529 (.03-10 mg/kg, intramuscular injection) effects on intravenous nicotine self-administration and reinstatement of nicotine seeking induced by nicotine priming or nicotine-associated cues. We also determined AZD8529 effects on food self-administration in monkeys and nicotine-induced dopamine release in accumbens shell in rats. RESULTS: AZD8529 potentiated agonist-induced activation of mGluR2 in the membrane-binding assay and in primate cortex, hippocampus, and striatum. In monkeys, AZD8529 decreased nicotine self-administration at doses (.3-3 mg/kg) that did not affect food self-administration. AZD8529 also reduced nicotine priming- and cue-induced reinstatement of nicotine seeking after extinction of the drug-reinforced responding. In rats, AZD8529 decreased nicotine-induced accumbens dopamine release. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence for efficacy of positive allosteric modulators of mGluR2 in nonhuman primate models of nicotine reinforcement and relapse. This drug class should be considered for nicotine addiction treatment.

Effects of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase (FAAH) Inhibitors in Non-Human Primate Models of Nicotine Reward and Relapse.

Inhibition of the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) counteracts reward-related effects of nicotine in rats, but it has not been tested for this purpose in non-human primates. Therefore, we studied the effects of the first- and second-generation O-arylcarbamate-based FAAH inhibitors, URB597 (cyclohexyl carbamic acid 3'-carbamoyl-3-yl ester) and URB694 (6-hydroxy-[1,1'-biphenyl]-3-yl-cyclohexylcarbamate), in squirrel monkeys. Both FAAH inhibitors: (1) blocked FAAH activity in brain and liver, increasing levels of endogenous ligands for cannabinoid and α-type peroxisome proliferator-activated (PPAR-α) receptors; (2) shifted nicotine self-administration dose-response functions in a manner consistent with reduced nicotine reward; (3) blocked reinstatement of nicotine seeking induced by reexposure to either nicotine priming or nicotine-associated cues; and (4) had no effect on cocaine or food self-administration. The effects of FAAH inhibition on nicotine self-administration and nicotine priming-induced reinstatement were reversed by the PPAR-α antagonist, MK886. Unlike URB597, which was not self-administered by monkeys in an earlier study, URB694 was self-administered at a moderate rate. URB694 self-administration was blocked by pretreatment with an antagonist for either PPAR-α (MK886) or cannabinoid CB1 receptors (rimonabant). In additional experiments in rats, URB694 was devoid of THC-like or nicotine-like interoceptive effects under drug-discrimination procedures, and neither of the FAAH inhibitors induced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens shell--consistent with their lack of robust reinforcing effects in monkeys. Overall, both URB597 and URB694 show promise for the initialization and maintenance of smoking cessation because of their ability to block the rewarding effects of nicotine and prevent nicotine priming-induced and cue-induced reinstatement.

Reducing cannabinoid abuse and preventing relapse by enhancing endogenous brain levels of kynurenic acid.

In the reward circuitry of the brain, α-7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7nAChRs) modulate effects of Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana's main psychoactive ingredient. Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is an endogenous negative allosteric modulator of α7nAChRs. Here we report that the kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO) inhibitor Ro 61-8048 increases brain KYNA levels and attenuates cannabinoid-induced increases in extracellular dopamine in reward-related brain areas. In the self-administration model of drug abuse, Ro 61-8048 reduced the rewarding effects of THC and the synthetic cannabinoid WIN 55,212-2 in squirrel monkeys and rats, respectively, and it also prevented relapse to drug-seeking induced by reexposure to cannabinoids or cannabinoid-associated cues. The effects of enhancing endogenous KYNA levels with Ro 61-8048 were prevented by positive allosteric modulators of α7nAChRs. Despite a clear need, there are no medications approved for treatment of marijuana dependence. Modulation of KYNA offers a pharmacological strategy for achieving abstinence from marijuana and preventing relapse.