Project description:The illicit use of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl has led to a serious public health crisis in the US. People with opioid use disorder are more likely to contract infections such as HIV and viral hepatitis and experience more severe disease. While several drugs of abuse are known to enhance viral replication and to suppress immunologic responses, the effects of synthetic opioids on HIV pathogenesis have not been investigated thoroughly. Thus, we examined the impact of fentanyl on macrophage cell line U937 and monocyte derived macrophage cells and chemokine receptor expression in vitro.
Project description:The illicit use of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl has led to a serious public health crisis in the United States. People with opioid use disorder are more likely to contract infections such as HIV and viral hepatitis. While several drugs of abuse are known to enhance viral replication and to suppress immunologic responses, the effects of synthetic opioids on HIV pathogenesis have not been investigated thoroughly. Thus, we examined the impact of fentanyl on HIV-susceptible and HIV-infected cell types and chemokine receptor expression in vitro. TZM-bl and HIV-infected lymphocyte cells were incubated with fentanyl at concentrations of 1 ng, 100 ng, and 10 ug. Expression levels of the CXCR4 and CCR5 chemokine receptors were measured in cell lysates, and HIV p24 antigen was quantified in culture supernatants by ELISA. HIV proviral DNA was quantified in cells using SYBR RT-PCR targeting the pol gene. Cell viability in the presence of drug was detected by the MTT Cell Proliferation Assay. RNA-seq and miRNAseq was performed to characterize cellular gene regulation in the presence of fentanyl. Fentanyl enhanced expression of CXCR4 and CCR5 protein levels in a dose-dependent manner in HIV-susceptible and HIV-infected cells. Similarly, fentanyl induced viral expression in HIV-exposed TZM-bl cells and in multiple HIV-infected lymphocyte cell lines. Multiple genes associated with apoptosis, antiviral / interferon response, chemokine signaling, and NFκB signaling were differentially regulated by fentanyl. These data demonstrate that the synthetic opioid fentanyl impacts HIV replication and chemokine co-receptor expression in HIV-susceptible and HIV-infected cells. Increased virus levels also suggest that opioid use may increase the likelihood of transmission to others and accelerate disease progression.
Project description:Fentanyl enhanced expression of CXCR4 and CCR5 protein levels and viral expression in a dose-dependent manner in multiple HIV-susceptible and HIV-infected cell lines. Multiple genes associated with apoptosis, antiviral / interferon response, chemokine. signaling, and NFκB signaling were differentially regulated by fentanyl. Thus fentanyl impacts HIV replication and chemokine co-receptor expression in HIV-susceptible and HIV-infected lymphocyte cell lines suggesting that opioid use may increase the likelihood of transmission to others and accelerate disease progression.
Project description:Background: Opioid withdrawal is a key driver of opioid addiction and an obstacle to recovery. However, withdrawal effects on opioid reinforcement and mesolimbic neuroadaptation are understudied and the role of sex is largely unknown. Methods: Male (n=13) and female (n=12) rats responded under a fentanyl-vs.-food “choice” procedure during daily 2h sessions. In addition to the daily choice sessions, rats were provided extended access to fentanyl during 12h self-administration sessions. After two weeks of this selfadministration regimen, the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) of a subset of rats were subjected to RNA sequencing. In the remaining rats, a third week of this self-administration regimen was conducted, during which methadone effects on fentanyl-vs.-food choice were determined. Results: Prior to opioid dependence, male and female rats similarly allocated responding between fentanyl and food. Abstinence from extended fentanyl access elicited similar increases in somatic withdrawal signs in both sexes. Despite similar withdrawal signs and extended access fentanyl intake, opioid withdrawal was accompanied by a maladaptive increase in fentanyl choice in males, but not females. Behavioral sex differences corresponded with a greater number of differentially expressed genes in the NAc and VTA of opioidwithdrawn females relative to males. Methadone blocked withdrawal-associated increases in fentanyl choice in males, but failed to further decrease fentanyl choice in females. Conclusions: These results provide foundational evidence of sex-specific neuroadaptations to opioid withdrawal, which may be relevant to the female-specific resilience to withdrawal-associated increases in opioid choice and aid in the identification of novel therapeutic targets.
Project description:The US is in the midst of a major drug epidemic fueled in large part by the widespread recreational use of syntheticopioids such as fentanyl. we evaluated the impact of fentanyl using in cell lines that replicate infectious viruses. RNAseq identified a number of hepatocyte genes that were differentially regulated by fentanyl, including those related to apoptosis, the antiviral / interferon response, chemokine signaling, and NFkB signaling.
Project description:To study the relationship between microRNAs and μ-opioid receptor (MOR) signaling, we examined microRNA expression after chronic morphine or fentanyl treatment in rat primary hippocampal neurons and in mouse hippocampus. Mouse cerebellum region was also tested as a negative control to eliminate microRNA expression changes unrelated to MOR signaling, as the cerebellum is essentially devoid of MOR. We identified a number of microRNAs that altered their expression upon treatment with both morphine and fentanyl in the rat and mouse systems. There were, however, some microRNAs that changed in response to morphine, or fentanyl, but not both. Keywords: Expression profiling There are up to three biological replicates (indicated by 1, 2, and 3) of primary hippocampal neurons from new born rats and the cerebellum and hippocampus regions from adult mice treated for three days (control, morphine, and fentanyl). The biological replicates were from experiments performed on different dates. Each biological replicate contained cells or tissues collected from multiple animals so that enough RNA could be extracted for RNA analysis. RNA was labelled with a green dye, mixed with a reference DNA sample labelled with a red dye. The reference DNA contained a number of synthetic DNA oligos with mature microRNA sequences that served to verify microarray hybridization. RNA signals were in ch1, DNA signals ch2.
Project description:An increase in opioid-overdose deaths was evident before the COVID-19 pandemic, and has escalated since its onset. Fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid, is the primary driver of these recent trends. The current study used two inbred mouse strains, C57BL/6 J and A/J, to investigate the genetics of behavioral responses to fentanyl. Mice were tested for conditioned place preference and fentanyl-induced locomotor activity. C57BL/6J mice formed a conditioned place preference to fentanyl injections and fentanyl increased their activity. Neither effect was noted in A/J mice. We conducted RNA-sequencing on the nucleus accumbens of mice used for fentanyl-induced locomotor activity. Surprisingly, we noted few differentially expressed genes using treatment as the main factor. However many genes differed between strains. We validated differences in two genes: suppressor APC domain containing 1 (Sapcd1) and Glyoxalase 1 (Glo1), with quantitative PCR on RNA from the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex. In both regions A/J mice had significantly higher expression of both genes than did C57BL/6 J. In prefrontal cortex, fentanyl treatment decreased Glo1 mRNA. Glyoxalase 1 catalyzes the detoxification of reactive alpha-oxoaldehydes such as glyoxal and methylglyoxal, is associated with anxiety and activity levels, and its inhibition reduces alcohol intake. We suggest that future studies assess the ability of Glo1 and related metabolites to modify opioid intake.
Project description:Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a public health crisis currently being exacerbated by increases in use of fentanyl; therefore, the identification of novel biomarkers and treatment strategies is critical. Here, we define how manipulations of the gut microbiome drive fentanyl intake, fentanyl seeking, and alter proteomic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens. These findings establish clear relevance for gut-brain signaling in OUD, and lay foundations for further translational work in this space.