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The GABA_B Positive Allosteric Modulator ADX71441 Attenuates Alcohol Self-Administration and Relapse to Alcohol Seeking in Rats.

ABSTRACT: GABAergic signaling is involved in modulating the reinforcing properties of alcohol, and GABA_B receptors have been proposed as a potential target for clinical treatment of alcoholism. The orthosteric GABA_B receptor agonist baclofen has been shown to suppress operant self-administration of alcohol in animals and alcohol use in alcohol-dependent patients, but its utility is limited by a narrow therapeutic index. We tested the effects of ADX71441, a novel GABA_B receptor positive allosteric modulator, on alcohol-related behaviors in rats. We first assessed the effects of ADX71441 (1, 3, 10 and 30?mg/kg, I.P.) on both non-dependent and dependent male Wistar rats trained to self-administer 20% alcohol. We then determined the effects of ADX71441 on stress-induced as well as cue-induced relapse-like behavior. Finally, we sought to identify the brain regions through which ADX71441 may act to prevent relapse-like behavior by mapping the neuronal activation induced by stress-induced reinstatement of alcohol-seeking using c-Fos immunohistochemistry. ADX71441 dose-dependently decreased alcohol self-administration of both dependent and non-dependent animals, but its potency was higher in alcohol-dependent rats. Furthermore, both cue- and stress-induced alcohol seeking were blocked by the GABA_B receptor positive allosteric modulator. Finally, pretreatment with 3?mg/kg of ADX71441 before stress-induced reinstatement significantly decreased c-Fos expression in a network of brain regions implicated in stress-induced relapse, comprising the nucleus accumbens shell, the dorsal raphe nucleus and the medial prefrontal cortex. Our findings support a causal role of GABA_B receptors in alcohol reinforcement and relapse to alcohol seeking. These effects are observed in the absence of significant sedative side effects. Jointly, these observations indicate that GABA_B receptor positive allosteric modulators merit being tested clinically for the treatment of alcoholism. Our data also point to a potential biomarker of target engagement for early clinical studies.

SUBMITTER: Augier E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5520784 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The GABAB Positive Allosteric Modulator ADX71441 Attenuates Alcohol Self-Administration and Relapse to Alcohol Seeking in Rats.

Augier Eric E Dulman Russell S RS Damadzic Ruslan R Pilling Andrew A Hamilton J Paul JP Heilig Markus M

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology 20170315 9

GABAergic signaling is involved in modulating the reinforcing properties of alcohol, and GABAB receptors have been proposed as a potential target for clinical treatment of alcoholism. The orthosteric GABAB receptor agonist baclofen has been shown to suppress operant self-administration of alcohol in animals and alcohol use in alcohol-dependent patients, but its utility is limited by a narrow therapeutic index. We tested the effects of ADX71441, a novel GABAB rece ...[more]

PMID: 28294133

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Project description:Rationale: Current first-line treatments for stress-related disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD) act on monoaminergic systems and take weeks to achieve a therapeutic effect with poor response and low remission rates. Recent research has implicated the GABAergic system in the pathophysiology of depression, including deficits in interneurons targeting the dendritic compartment of cortical pyramidal cells. Objectives: The present study evaluates whether SH-053-2'F-R-CH3 (denoted "?5-PAM"), a positive allosteric modulator selective for ?5-subunit containing GABAA receptors found predominantly on cortical pyramidal cell dendrites, has anti-stress effects. Methods: Female and male C57BL6/J mice were exposed to unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) and treated with ?5-PAM acutely (30 min prior to assessing behavior) or chronically before being assessed behaviorally. Results: Acute and chronic ?5-PAM treatments produce a pattern of decreased stress-induced behaviors (denoted as "behavioral emotionality") across various tests in female, but not in male mice. Behavioral Z-scores calculated across a panel of tests designed to best model the range and heterogeneity of human symptomatology confirmed that acute and chronic ?5-PAM treatments consistently produce significant decreases in behavioral emotionality in several independent cohorts of females. The behavioral responses to ?5-PAM could not be completely accounted for by differences in drug brain disposition between female and male mice. In mice exposed to UCMS, expression of the Gabra5 gene was increased in the frontal cortex after acute treatment and in the hippocampus after chronic treatment with ?5-PAM in females only, and these expression changes correlated with behavioral emotionality. Conclusion: We showed that acute and chronic positive modulation of ?5 subunit-containing GABAA receptors elicit anti-stress effects in a sex-dependent manner, suggesting novel therapeutic modalities.

Dataset Information

The GABA_B Positive Allosteric Modulator ADX71441 Attenuates Alcohol Self-Administration and Relapse to Alcohol Seeking in Rats.

Publications

The GABA<sub>B</sub> Positive Allosteric Modulator ADX71441 Attenuates Alcohol Self-Administration and Relapse to Alcohol Seeking in Rats.

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