Evidence of CNIH3 involvement in opioid dependence.

Opioid dependence, a severe addictive disorder and major societal problem, has been demonstrated to be moderately heritable. We conducted a genome-wide association study in Comorbidity and Trauma Study data comparing opioid-dependent daily injectors (N=1167) with opioid misusers who never progressed to daily injection (N=161). The strongest associations, observed for CNIH3 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), were confirmed in two independent samples, the Yale-Penn genetic studies of opioid, cocaine and alcohol dependence and the Study of Addiction: Genetics and Environment, which both contain non-dependent opioid misusers and opioid-dependent individuals. Meta-analyses found five genome-wide significant CNIH3 SNPs. The A allele of rs10799590, the most highly associated SNP, was robustly protective (P=4.30E-9; odds ratio 0.64 (95% confidence interval 0.55-0.74)). Epigenetic annotation predicts that this SNP is functional in fetal brain. Neuroimaging data from the Duke Neurogenetics Study (N=312) provide evidence of this SNP's in vivo functionality; rs10799590 A allele carriers displayed significantly greater right amygdala habituation to threat-related facial expressions, a phenotype associated with resilience to psychopathology. Computational genetic analyses of physical dependence on morphine across 23 mouse strains yielded significant correlations for haplotypes in CNIH3 and functionally related genes. These convergent findings support CNIH3 involvement in the pathophysiology of opioid dependence, complementing prior studies implicating the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) glutamate system.

Increased desensitization of dopamine D2 receptor-mediated response in the ventral tegmental area in the absence of adenosine A(2A) receptors.

G-protein coupled receptors interact to provide additional regulatory mechanisms for neurotransmitter signaling. Adenosine A(2A) receptors are expressed at a high density in striatal neurons, where they closely interact with dopamine D2 receptors and modulate effects of dopamine and responses to psychostimulants. A(2A) receptors are expressed at much lower densities in other forebrain neurons but play a more prominent yet opposing role to striatal receptors in response to psychostimulants in mice. It is, therefore, possible that A(2A) receptors expressed at low levels elsewhere in the brain may also regulate neurotransmitter systems and modulate neuronal functions. Dopamine D2 receptors play an important role in autoinhibition of neuronal firing in dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dopamine release in other brain areas. Here, we examined the effect of A(2A) receptor deletion on D2 receptor-mediated inhibition of neuronal firing in dopamine neurons in the VTA. Spontaneous activity of dopamine neurons was recorded in midbrain slices, and concentration-dependent effects of the dopamine D2 receptor agonist, quinpirole, was compared between wild-type and A(2A) knockout mice. The potency of quinpirole applied in single concentrations and the expression of D2 receptors were not altered in the VTA of the knockout mice. However, quinpirole applied in stepwise escalating concentrations caused significantly reduced maximal inhibition in A(2A) knockout mice, indicating an enhanced agonist-induced desensitization of D2 receptors in the absence of A(2A) receptors. The A(2A) receptor agonist, CGS21680, did not exert any effect on dopamine neuron firing or response to quinpirole, revealing a novel non-pharmacological interaction between adenosine A(2A) receptors and dopaminergic neurotransmission in midbrain dopamine neurons. Altered D2 receptor desensitization may result in changes in dopamine neuron firing rate and pattern and dopamine release in other brain areas in response to persistent dopamine release and administration of psychostimulants.