Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 mediates cocaine reinstatement via the D1 dopamine receptor in the nucleus accumbens

Abstract

Purpose:

The transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is a nonselective cation channel that mediates synaptic modification in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). However, no study has yet examined the mechanism of TRPV1 in the NAc on cocaine reinstatement. We investigated the mechanism of TRPV1 in NAc on cocaine reinstatement using the conditioned place preference (CPP) test in mice.

Methods:

We examined the effect of capsazepine (5 mg/kg, a TRPV1 antagonist, administered intraperitoneally (i.p.)), capsaicin (0.3 mg/kg, a TRPV1 agonist, administered i.p.), and genetic deletion of TRPV1 on the reinstatement of cocaine-induced CPP (15 mg/kg, administered i.p.). The expression of TRPV1 and Ca2⁺/calmodulin-mediated kinase II (CaMKII) in the NAc were determined after cocaine reinstatement. Microinjection of SB366791 (0.2 ng, a selective TRPV1 antagonist) in the NAc was assessed on SKF-81297 (1 µg, D1-like dopamine (DA) receptor agonist) primed cocaine reinstatement.

Results:

Capsazepine suppressed and capsaicin potentiated cocaine CPP in the reinstatement phase. In addition, genetic deletion of TRPV1 inhibited cocaine-priming reinstatement. Cocaine reinstatement was mediated by increased TRPV1 expression in the NAc, which involves CaMKII. Microinjection of SB366791 in the NAc prevented the cocaine reinstatement evoked by microinjection of SKF-81297 in the NAc.

Conclusions:

These findings suggest that activation of TRPV1 mediates the stimulation of D1-like DA receptors and CaMKII in the NAc, resulting in the facilitation of cocaine reinstatement behaviors. Thus, our findings reveal a previously unknown TRPV1 mechanism in the reinstatement to drugs of abuse.

Keywords

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 cocaine reinstatement D1-like dopamine receptors

Introduction

The transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is a nonselective cation channel that is activated by capsaicin, the potent compound found in hot chili peppers that is involved in diverse stimuli including heat, voltage, vanilloids, and endocannabinoids (Ahern et al., 2005; Caterina et al., 1997; Huang et al., 2002; Hwang et al., 2000; Nilius et al., 2005). Capsaicin produces a burning sensation via TRPV1 activation, and the sensation of heat upon the ingestion of capsaicin enhances the flavor of certain culinary dishes, making it a popular ingredient in many types of cuisine. Recently, advances in our understanding of the neurobiology of central TRPV1 signaling suggest that it may be involved in addiction.

Anatomical studies have shown that TRPV1 is expressed in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray, locus coeruleus (LC), ventral tegmental area (VTA), cerebellum, striatum, nucleus accumbens (NAc), hippocampus, and dentate gyrus (Mezey et al., 2000; Roberts et al., 2004; Sanchez et al., 2001; Sasamura et al., 1998; Toth et al., 2005). Functional studies have demonstrated that TRPV1 activation enhances neurotransmission from both glutamatergic and dopaminergic synapses onto a variety of brain regions, including the substantia nigra (Marinelli et al., 2003), LC (Marinelli et al., 2002), hypothalamus (Sasamura et al., 1998), striatum (Musella et al., 2009), VTA, and NAc (Marinelli et al., 2005), which are known to be brain areas important in the reinstatement to the addiction state. Previous work has suggested that postsynaptic metabotropic glutamate receptors in D2 dopamine (DA) receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons (MSNs) activate postsynaptic TRPV1 channels to induce long-term depression (LTD), and cocaine administration in vivo prevented TRPV1-dependent LTD (Grueter et al., 2010). However, the role played in cocaine addiction by TRPV1 expression in D1 DA receptor-expressing MSNs, the major cell type in the NAc, remains unclear.

Previous research indicates that stimulation of D1-like DA receptors in the NAc contributes to cocaine reinforcement (Caine et al., 2007), the reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior (Anderson et al., 2003; Bachtell et al., 2005; Schmidt et al., 2006), and place preference (White et al., 1991). Activation of D1-like DA receptors in the NAc also activates cyclic adenosine monophosphate and protein kinase A via the activation of voltage-gated L-type Ca2⁺ channels, which contribute to cocaine reinforcement and the reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior (Lynch and Taylor, 2005). Calcium influx through cation-permeable channels in the NAc activates a family of Ca2⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CaMK), which modulate cocaine priming-induced reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior (Anderson et al., 2008). Most notably, activation of D1-like DA receptors in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons induced Ca2⁺ influx via TRPV1 trans-activation. In addition, D1-like DA receptors and TRPV1 are co-expressed in mouse DRG neurons (Lee et al., 2015). However, the role of D1-like DA receptors and TRPV1 interaction in the NAc during cocaine-induced behaviors is unclear.

Given these findings, we hypothesized that TRPV1 expression in the NAc may play a role in the reinstatement of cocaine reward, similar to the effect of L-type Ca2⁺ channels. The working hypothesis for this study was that TRPV1 modulation is essential to the responses underlying cocaine reinstatement that are mediated by the activation of D1-like DA receptors and subsequently CaMKII in the NAc. We also suggest that increased expression of TRPV1 in the NAc facilitates cocaine reinstatement by stimulating CaMKII.

Materials and methods

Animals

Male CD1 mice were purchased from Koatech Co. Ltd. (Pyeongtaek, Republic of Korea), and TRPV1 knockout mice (TRPV1KO; B6.129X1–Trpv1tm1jul/J) and wild-type (WT) mice (C57BL6J) were obtained from Orient Bio Co. Ltd. (a branch of the Jackson Laboratory, Seongnam, Republic of Korea). CD1 mice were housed 10 per rat cage (26 cm×42 cm×18 cm), and TRPV1KO and WT mice were housed five per mouse cage (22 cm×27 cm×13 cm). The mice weighed 22–26 g at the time of the experiments. The animals were maintained in a vivarium under a 12 h/12 h light/dark cycle at 22±2ºC. Food and water were available ad libitum. All experiments were performed during the light cycle between 10:00am and 5:00pm. All experiments followed the guidelines of the National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.

Drugs

Capsaicin (Tocris, Ellisville, MO) and capsazepine (Tocris) were dissolved in 2% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), 10% Tween 80, and saline. Cocaine hydrochloride (Macfarlan Smith Ltd, Edinburgh, UK) was dissolved in saline. These drugs were administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) at 10 mL/kg of body weight. SKF-81297 (Tocris) and SB366791 (Tocris) were dissolved in 4% DMSO, 10% Tween 80, and saline. These drugs were microinjected into the NAc.

Conditioned place preference

The conditioned place preference (CPP) apparatus consisted of two compartments (15 cm×15 cm×15 cm) separated by closable guillotine doors. One compartment was white with a striated floor, and the other was black with a smooth floor. The compartments were illuminated by dim light (12 Lux). The procedure for CPP consisted of habituation (day 1), pre-conditioning (day 2), conditioning (days 3–8), post-conditioning (acquisition, day 9), extinction (days 10–16), and reinstatement (day 17). On day 1, mice were allowed to explore both compartments. On day 2, the amount of time spent on each side was recorded for 900 seconds. Mice spent 406±48 and 472±58 seconds in the white and black compartments, respectively. Although there was no statistically significant difference between the time spent in the two compartments, the mice showed a slight preference for each compartment. So, on days 3–8, conditioning (40 minutes per session) was conducted using a modified biased design and a counterbalanced procedure such that for half of the animals, treatment was paired with the preferred compartment, while for the other half of the animals, treatment was paired with the less preferred compartment (Tzschentke, 1998). In addition, half of the mice were paired with cocaine in the black compartment, and the other half were paired with cocaine in the white compartment. The mice were injected with cocaine (15 mg/kg i.p. for CD1 mice or 3.75 mg/kg i.p. for TRPV1KO and WT mice) and underwent conditioning in the less preferred compartment (as identified by pre-conditioning) on day 3, and conditioning with saline was performed on day 4 for the other compartment, or vice versa. There were a total of three cocaine sessions and three saline sessions over six days. On day 9, the mice were given free access to both compartments for 900 seconds, and the time spent on each side was recorded. During the extinction session, all mice received saline injections and were given free access to both compartments. On the day of the extinction test (day 16), the time spent on each side was recorded. On the reinstatement test day, vehicle, capsaicin (0.3 mg/kg i.p.), or capsazepine (2.5 mg/kg or 5 mg/kg i.p.) was administered 30 minutes prior to the administration of a priming injection of cocaine (15 mg/kg or 2.5 mg/kg i.p. for CD1 mice or 3.75 mg/kg i.p. for TRPV1KO and WT mice), and the time spent in each compartment was recorded for 900 seconds (see Figures 1 and 2(c) and (d)). CPP scores were expressed as the time spent in the less preferred compartment during the pre-conditioning session minus the time spent there during the post-conditioning, extinction, or reinstatement sessions. To make sure of the effects of microinjection on the brain, the time spent in the black and white compartments was recorded for a 1200-second period for the mice that received microinjection surgery (see Figure 4). A total of 142 male CD1 mice were trained to CPP as described above. Twenty-seven male CD1 mice that showed a significant preference (>750 seconds) for the black or white compartments during preconditioning (day1) and did not extinguish cocaine-induced CPP on the extinction test (day 9) were excluded from the study. Twenty male TRPV1KO mice and 22 WT mice were used for CPP as described above, and five TRPV1KO mice and one WT mice were excluded from final analysis for the reasons mentioned above.

Microinjection surgery

Prior to surgery, the 36 male CD1 mice were anesthetized with pentobarbital (50 mg/kg i.p.) as previously described (Peterse et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2017) and were placed in a stereotaxic apparatus. The mice were implanted bilaterally with intracranial cannulas (26 gauge; PlasticsOne, Inc., Roanoke, VA) that ended 1 mm dorsal to the NAc through holes drilled in the skull. Each cannula was cemented in place by affixing dental acrylic to stainless-steel screws that had been secured in the skull. The coordinates were as follows: −2.0 mm anteroposterior, ±0.5 mm mediolateral to the bregma, and −4.5 mm dorsoventral to the surface of the skull, according to the atlas of Paxinos and Franklin (2003). To prevent occlusion, an obturator (33 gauge; PlasticsOne) was inserted into each guide cannula following surgery. After a four-day recovery period, the mice underwent the CPP test (see Figure 4).

Microinjection procedure

On the day of CPP reinstatement, the obturator was removed from the guide cannula, and a 33-gauge microinjector (PlasticsOne) was inserted. The microinjector extended 1 mm below the ventral end of the guide cannula and into the NAc. Bilateral infusions were performed over a period of two minutes to introduce a total volume of 0.2 µL per side. Following the microinjection, the guide cannulas were left in place for an additional two minutes to allow the administered solution to diffuse away from the tip of the cannula. The obturator was then placed into the guide cannula. During the reinstatement session, SKF-81297 (1 µg/0.2 µL) or vehicle was administered into the NAc either alone or in combination with SB366791 (0.2 ng/0.2 µL). Mice were then placed in the CPP box, and the session began immediately after microinjection. No cocaine was administered during the reinstatement session (see Figure 4). Seven male CD1 with inaccurate placements or clogged cannula were excluded from the final data.

Brain dissection

After the CPP reinstatement phase, the mice were decapitated, and the whole brain was removed, frozen on dry ice, and stored at −80°C until use. Brains were sectioned in a cryostat (Leica, Wetzlar, Germany) at −20°C to reach the NAc. Bilateral tissue punches of the NAc spanning approximately ⁺1.7 to ⁺1.2 mm relative to the bregma (Paxinos and Franklin, 2003) were obtained with a 17-gauge stainless-steel stylet for real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot.

Quantitative real-time RT-PCR

The protocol has previously been used and produces comparable results (Nguyen et al., 2014; Tian et al., 2018). Briefly, total RNA samples were isolated from tissue using the RNeasy kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) and reverse-transcribed with the SuperScript™ III First-Strand Synthesis System for RT-PCR (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). Quantification of mouse TRPV1 was performed with a Rotor-Gene 6000 real-time amplification system (Corbett Research, Mortlake, Australia). PCR was conducted using a SensiMixPlus SYBR Kit (Quantace, Alexandria, Australia). Relative quantification was performed for 250 ng of RNA using single-enzyme RT-PCR in a total reaction volume of 20 µL. The RT-PCR cycling conditions were 95°C for 10 minutes, followed by 45 cycles of PCR amplification with denaturation (95°C for 10 seconds), primer annealing (58°C for 15 seconds), and extension (72°C for 20 seconds) with TRPV1 primers (forward primer (FP): 5′-AGCCATGCTCAATCTGCAC-3′; reverse primer (RP): 5′-TGCTG-TCTGGCCCTTGTAG-3′). Amplification data were acquired during the extension step and analyzed with Corbett Research Software v1.7.75 using the comparative critical threshold (ΔΔC_t) values. Target gene levels were normalized to β-actin levels (FP: 5′-AGAGGGAAATCGTGCGTGAC-3′; RP: 5′-CAATAGTGATGAC-CTGGCCGT-3′).

Western blot

We modified the previously described protocol (Nguyen et al., 2014; Tian et al., 2018). Briefly, brain tissue samples were homogenized with a MagNA lyser (Roche, Basel, Switzerland) in ice-cold buffer (10 mM Tris, pH 7.4, 160 mM sucrose, 1 mM, EDTA, 1 mM, DTT, protein inhibitor cocktail tablet; Roche Applied Science, Penzberg, Germany). Homogenates were centrifuged for 20 minutes at 16,000 g at 4°C. Membrane and cytosol fractions were collected using a plasma membrane kit (ab65400; Abcam, Cambridge, UK). The protein content of the fractions was determined with a protein assay kit (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA). Fifty micrograms of each aliquot was loaded onto a 6% or 8% Tris-SDS gel. The proteins were blotted onto polyvinylidene fluoride membranes and immunoprobed in 5% bovine serum albumin with Tris-buffered saline with Tween 20 (10 mM Tris, 0.15 M NaCl, and 0.05% Tween 20) overnight at 4°C. Membranes were probed with primary antibodies against TRPV1 (1:2000; Abcam), CaMKIIα (1:2000; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc., Santa Cruz, CA), phospho-CaMKIIα/β (1:1000; Upstate Biotechnology, Inc., Lake Placid, NY), and β-actin (1:10,000; Sigma–Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) for 12 hours at 4°C. The samples were then exposed to goat anti-rabbit (1:5000; Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA) or -mouse (1:10,000; GenDEPOT, Katy, TX) horseradish peroxidase–conjugated secondary antibodies for one hour at 25°C. Bands were visualized using the enhanced chemiluminescent detection system (PerkinElmer, Waltham, MA) and were exposed on film (Kodak, Rochester, NY). The films were scanned, and their intensities were quantified using computer-assisted densitometry (ImageQuant v3.3; Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA). For data analysis, all bands were normalized to β-actin. The data were expressed as a ratio of TPRV1/β-actin, CaMKII/β-actin, or phosphor-CaMKII/β-actin and were presented as a percentage of the vehicle group.

Cell culture

Human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (HyClone, Logan, UT) supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated horse serum, 5% fetal bovine serum, and 0.1% penicillin/streptomycin (Gibco–BRL, Grand Island, NE) at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere of 10% CO₂ and 90% air. Cells were fed every three days in cell culture dishes and sub-cultured once they reached 80–90% confluency.

Ca2⁺ imaging

Intracellular Ca2⁺ levels ((Ca2⁺)_i) were determined with the Ca2⁺-sensitive fluorochrome Fluo-3/acetoxymethyl ester (Fluo-3/AM; Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR). PC12 cells (5×104 cells/well on 96-well plates) were incubated at 37°C with SKF81297, respectively, for one hour with or without SB366791 pretreatment. The cells were rinsed with Krebs–Ringer–HEPES buffer (131 mM NaCl, 5 mM KCl, 1.3 mM MgSO₄, 1.3 mM CaCl₂, 0.4 mM KH₂PO₄, 6 mM glucose, 20 mM HEPES, pH 7.4), and 10 μM Fluo-3/AM was added. After 30 minutes of incubation at 37°C, the cells were examined at 526 nm with a fluorescence spectrophotometer (LS50B; PerkinElmer, Boston, MA) following excitation at 488 nm. Fluo-3/AM fluorescence imaging data were collected using a fluorescence microscope (20×). Cocaine was dissolved in PBS, and SKF-81297 was dissolved in DMSO. The final concentration of DMSO was 0.5% (DMSO at this concentration exerts no effect on intracellular Ca2⁺ level and Ca2⁺ currents).

Statistics

Data are expressed as the mean±standard error of the mean (SEM). CPP was analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Newman–Keuls test using Prism v5.0 (GraphPad Software, Inc., San Diego, CA; Nguyen et al., 2014; Tian et al., 2018). The difference between the extinction session and reinstatement test in each group was analyzed with a two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (RM ANOVA) with a between variable, “drug,” and a within-subjects variable, “session.” Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. The PCR products of real-time RT-PCR and the Western blot products were analyzed using unpaired Student’s t-tests. The time spent in the CPP apparatus and movements within the boxes were tracked with a computer-based video-tracking system (NeuroVision; Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea).

Results

Activation of TRPV1 regulates the reinstatement of cocaine CPP

The administration of cocaine (15 mg/kg) for three alternate days in either the black or the white compartment of the CPP box resulted in a significant preference (p<0.01 or p<0.05) for the cocaine-paired compartment compared to the saline group (Figure 1). To investigate whether the activation of TRPV1 was associated with cocaine priming-induced reinstatement of CPP in mice, we used the TPRV1 ligands capsazepine and capsaicin. Pretreatment with 5 mg/kg of capsazepine, a TRPV1 antagonist, significantly abolished the cocaine-primed reinstatement of cocaine place preference in mice (F(2, 23)=4.629, p<0.05; Figure 1(a)), whereas 0.3 mg/kg of capsaicin, a TRPV1 agonist, significantly potentiated 2.5 mg/kg cocaine-primed reinstatement compared to the vehicle-saline treatment (F(2, 31)=3.866, p<0.05; Figure 1(b)). The effect of capsaicin on a low dose of cocaine-primed reinstatement was inhibited by pretreatment with 5 mg/kg of capsazepine (Figure 1(b)). To measure the effect of capsaicin on cocaine-primed reinstatement, we used 2.5 mg/kg of cocaine because 15 and 7.5 mg/kg of cocaine generally produce maximal effects on the reinstatement of CPP, preventing the observation of the capsaicin-induced potentiating effect. There were no effects in groups where the 5 mg/kg of capsazepine (Figure 1(a)) and 0.3 mg/kg of capsaicin (Figure 1(b)) were given alone.

Fifteen milligrams per kilogram of cocaine produced a significant CPP compared to the saline group in the acquisition session (F(5, 47)=3.307, p<0.01 or p<0.05, Figure 1(a); F(5, 55)=2.629, p<0.05, Figure 1(b)). Animals treated with saline did not present with CPP during the acquisition session. Cocaine-induced CPP during acquisition disappeared during the extinction session. There was no significant difference in each group with respect to the extinction session (F(4, 38)=0.4955, Figure 1(a); F(4, 50)=1.159, Figure 1(b)). Two-way RM ANOVA (see Figure 1(a)) revealed a significant main effect of session (F(1, 38)=5.48, p=0.0246) but no significant drug effect (F(4, 38)=1.51) or interactions (F(4, 38)=0.4018) between extinction and reinstatement in each group. Two-way RM ANOVA (see Figure 1(b)) revealed a significant main effect of session (F(1, 50)=5.90, p=0.0188) but no significant drug (F(4, 50)=2.47) or interaction effects between (F(4, 50)=2.41) extinction and reinstatement in each group. Post hoc Bonferroni multiple comparisons showed that capsaicin significantly increased cocaine CPP (t=3.461, p<0.01), whereas capsaicin combined with capsazepine prevented enhanced reinstatement of cocaine CPP (Figure 1(b)). These data suggest that TRPV1 regulates the reinstatement of cocaine reward.

TRPV1 mRNA and protein expression in the NAc increase upon reinstatement of cocaine CPP

To investigate the molecular mechanism of TRPV1 in cocaine reinstatement, the expression of TRPV1 in the NAc was assessed following the reinstatement of cocaine CPP. We measured TRPV1 mRNA and protein expression using quantitative real-time RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. The level of TRPV1 protein (Figure 2(a)) and mRNA (Figure 2(b)) in the NAc was significantly increased in mice after the cocaine CPP reinstatement phase. These results suggest that it is the reinstatement of cocaine CPP that is associated with an increase in TRPV1 mRNA and protein expression in the NAc.

TRPV1KO mice do not produce cocaine-induced reinstatement

We tested the effect of genetic deletion of TRPV1 on cocaine priming-induced reinstatement in TRPV1KO and WT mice. Cocaine (3.75 mg/kg) produced a significant CPP during the acquisition phase in both WT (t₁₅=2.853; Figure 2(c)) and TRPV1KO (t₁₇=2.236; Figure 2(d)) mice. After the extinction phase, the WT mice exhibited reinstatement of cocaine CPP by a priming injection of 3.75 mg/kg of cocaine (t₁₅=2.425; Figure 2(c)), whereas this behavior was absent in TRPV1KO mice (Figure 2(d)). Here, we used a low dose of cocaine (3.75 mg/kg) to investigate the extinction and reinstatement of CPP in TRPV1KO and WT mice because neither genotype exhibited cocaine CPP extinction over 60 days when conditioned with higher doses of cocaine (15 and 7.5 mg/kg). These results suggest that the genetic deletion of TRPV1 abolishes the reinstatement of cocaine CPP.

TRPV1 antagonist decreases D1-like DA receptor and cocaine-induced Ca2⁺ influx

To test the hypothesis that TRPV1 inactivation blocks cocaine reinstatement by inhibiting D1-like DA receptor, we measured intracellular Ca2⁺ levels ((Ca2⁺)_i) in the cells (Figure 3(a)) using a D1-like DA receptor agonist (SKF-81297) and a selective TRPV1 antagonist (SB 366791). Previous studies showed that capsazepine also activated TRPA1 channel (Kistner et al., 2016) and inactivated TRPM8 channel (Behrendt et al., 2004), voltage-activated calcium channels (Docherty et al., 1997), and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (Liu and Simon 1997). To clarify the role of TRPV1 and to prevent the effect of TRPA1 and TRPM8, we used SB366791, a selective TRPV1 antagonist, for the study of calcium mobilization. The application of 10 µM SKF-81297 significantly increased (Ca2⁺)_i in PC12 cells (F(5, 30)= 18.43; Figure 3(a)). SB 366791 (5 and 10 µM) attenuated this effect (p<0.001; Figure 3(a)). These results indicate that TRPV1 plays a key role in the increase of (Ca2⁺)_i by the stimulation of D1-like DA receptors and suggests an important biochemical component of the reinstatement mechanism.

TRPV1 antagonist reduced the enhanced expression of CaMKII in the NAc during reinstatement of cocaine CPP

Next, we investigated whether the effect of TRPV1 activation was associated with the total expression or phosphorylation of CaMKII (phospho-CaMKII) in the NAc of mice with a history of cocaine CPP reinstatement using Western blot. Cocaine injection during the reinstatement phase increased the expression of both total CaMKII (F(2, 8)=26.55; Figure 3(b)) and phospho-CaMKII (F(2, 8)=6.192; Figure 3(c)). The increase in total CaMKII and phospho-CaMKII by cocaine was prevented by treatment with 5 mg/kg of capsazepine (Figure 3(c) and (d)). These data suggest that enhanced phosphorylation of CaMKII by increased total CaMKII expression during the reinstatement of cocaine CPP results from increased intracellular Ca 2⁺ influx mediated by TRPV1.

TRPV1 antagonist attenuates cocaine reinstatement induced by intra-NAc injection of SKF-81297

Based on our CPP results for TRPV1KO mice and the molecular data demonstrating increased expression of TRPV1 in the NAc, we tested the hypothesis that TRPV1 may regulate the reinstatement of cocaine CPP via the stimulation of D1-like DA receptors in a manner similar to that observed for L-type cation channels (Anderson et al., 2008). To this end, we investigated the effect of a selective TRPV1 antagonist (SB 366791) in the NAc on the stimulation of D1-like DA receptor (SKF-81297)-primed reinstatement of cocaine-induced CPP. The administration of cocaine (15 mg/kg) for three alternate days resulted in a significant preference compared to the saline injection group (p<0.05). Extinction of CPP was rendered following repeated saline injection in both the cocaine- and saline-paired compartments (Figure 4(a)). We first showed that the microinjection of vehicle in the NAc of mice did not evoke cocaine reinstatement in the mice with induced cocaine CPP (F(3, 25)=4.935; Figure 4(a)). The reinstatement data were analyzed with a two-way RM ANOVA, which revealed a significant main effect of session (F(1, 15)=5.324) and no significant drug (F(2, 15)=0.2397) and interaction effects between these factors (F(2, 15)=1.764). Post hoc Bonferroni multiple comparisons showed that SKF-81297 microinjection significantly reinstated cocaine CPP (t=3.057, p<0.01), whereas the microinjection of SKF-81297 combined with SB 366791 in the NAc prevented SKF-81297-primed reinstatement of cocaine CPP (Figure 4(b)). In addition, SB 366791 alone did not reinstate cocaine CPP (Figure 4(b)). Thus, the blockade of TRPV1 in the NAc prevented cocaine reinstatement mediated by the stimulation of D1-like DA receptors.

Discussion

In the present study, we found that the systemic administration of the TRPV1 antagonist capsazepine attenuated the reinstatement of cocaine-induced CPP. In contrast, the TRPV1 agonist capsaicin potentiated cocaine primed reinstatement, suggesting that the stimulation of TRPV1 promotes the reinstatement of cocaine CPP. To provide further evidence that a TPRV1-dependent mechanism is important in cocaine reinstatement, we determined the effect of the genetic deletion of TRPV1 on the reinstatement of cocaine CPP in mice and discovered that the genetic deletion of TRPV1 prevented cocaine reinstatement in CPP. These results complement those of another study showing that the selective TRPV1 antagonist SB 366791 decreased cocaine-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior (Adamczyk et al., 2012).

Our results demonstrate that cocaine priming-induced reinstatement was associated with increased expression of TRPV1 in the NAc of mice. The TRPV1 channel is a nonselective cation channel with higher permeability to Ca2⁺ than Na⁺ (Pedersen et al., 2005). The increase in Ca2⁺ permeability subsequent to increased TRPV1 expression may be of particular significance for the reinstatement of cocaine CPP. One previous study indicated that increased D1-like DA receptor expression increased MSN Ca2^⁺ activity upon cocaine-paired chamber entry during cocaine-primed reinstatement (Calipari et al., 2016). Our finding reveals that the activation of D1-like DA receptors increased (Ca2^⁺)_i in PC12 cells, whereas pretreatment with a selective TRPV1 antagonist (Gunthorpe et al., 2004) attenuated enhanced (Ca2⁺)_i in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that Ca2⁺ influx through the TRPV1 channel contributes to the activation of D1-like DA receptors. D1-like DA receptors have been suggested to modulate the function of TRPV1 channels by CaMKII activation (Chakraborty et al., 2016). Our findings show that the increased expression of total CaMKII and phospho-CaMKII in the NAc is associated with the reinstatement of cocaine CPP in mice pretreated with a TRPV1 antagonist. These results suggest that TRPV1 is an important downstream effector in the reinstatement of cocaine CPP depending on the D1-like DA receptors and CaMKII.

Previous studies showed that the activation of D1-like DA receptors in the medial NAc facilitated the reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior by activation of L-type Ca2⁺ channels and CaMKII via the transportation of glutamate receptor-containing AMPA receptors in the NAc (Anderson et al., 2008). Ca2⁺ influx via L-type Ca2⁺ channels stimulates various protein kinases, including CaMKII (Lisman et al., 2002). The increased activity of CaMKII contributes to psychostimulant-induced behavioral sensitization (Gnegy, 2000; Licata and Pierce, 2003) and to the reinstatement of cocaine seeking (Anderson et al., 2008). In this study, we found that a selective TPRV1 antagonist blocked the reinstatement of cocaine CPP precipitated by intra-accumbal administration of the D1-like DA receptor agonist SKF-81297, suggesting that the activation of TRPV1 mediates the activation of the D1-like DA receptor in promoting the reinstatement of cocaine CPP. Therefore, our data suggest that the stimulation of the D1-like DA receptor in the NAc facilitates cocaine reinstatement by activating not only the L-type Ca2⁺ channel but also TRPV1, which in turn evokes enhanced CaMKII activity.

It is well known that behavioral responses and activated brain areas in the reinstatement of CPP are dissociate with to original CPP or psycho-motor sensitization, (Brown et al., 2010), whereas passive cocaine injection alone without conditioning changes the protein level (Mannangatti et al., 2015). In our reinstatement model, TRPV1 expression in the NAc was increased in the cocaine treatment group compared to the saline treatment group. This enhanced expression may reflect all the environmental factors, including conditioning, handling, and passive injection. However, it is possible that TRPV1 expression would increase in cocaine injection alone without conditioning or handling. We used cocaine CPP reinstatement model, which is more clinically relevant to the environmental conditions. It is worth comparing the effects of cocaine injection alone to cocaine treatment with conditioning and handling in terms of changes in TRPV1 expression in the future.

In conclusion, the present study provides evidence that the activation of TRPV1 plays a critical role in the reinstatement of addiction-associated behaviors. Our results show that the activation of TRPV1 mediates the stimulation of D1-like DA receptors and CaMKII in the NAc, resulting in the facilitation of cocaine reinstatement behaviors. Previously, we have reported that TRPV1 is associated with methamphetamine and opioid-induced reward effect (Nguyen et al., 2014; Tian et al., 2018). These results suggest that TRPV1 may not be specific to cocaine abuse only. Furthermore, previous studies showed that a selective TRPV1 antagonist (SB366791) is involved in both cocaine-induced reinstatement and operant response for food self-administration (Adamczyk et al., 2012). Cocaine and food have been the most commonly used drug and non-drug reinforcers, respectively, in preclinical studies (Kearns et al., 2011). Taken together, TRPV1 may offer a new therapeutic target for the treatment of drug and non-drug addiction.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge George F. Koob and Sunmee Wee for discussions on the manuscript. We also thank Hagyeong Lee for her excellent technical assistance. This research was supported by the Korea Food and Drug Administration (14182MFDS979) and the Basic Science Research Program (2017R1A2B2002428) of the National Research Foundation, Republic of Korea.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 mediates cocaine reinstatement via the D1 dopamine receptor in the nucleus accumbens

Abstract

Purpose:

Methods:

Results:

Conclusions:

Keywords

Introduction

Materials and methods

Animals

Drugs

Conditioned place preference

Microinjection surgery

Microinjection procedure

Brain dissection

Quantitative real-time RT-PCR

Western blot

Cell culture

Ca2+ imaging

Statistics

Results

Activation of TRPV1 regulates the reinstatement of cocaine CPP

TRPV1 mRNA and protein expression in the NAc increase upon reinstatement of cocaine CPP

TRPV1KO mice do not produce cocaine-induced reinstatement

TRPV1 antagonist decreases D1-like DA receptor and cocaine-induced Ca2+ influx

TRPV1 antagonist reduced the enhanced expression of CaMKII in the NAc during reinstatement of cocaine CPP

TRPV1 antagonist attenuates cocaine reinstatement induced by intra-NAc injection of SKF-81297

Discussion

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

Declaration of conflicting interests

Funding

ORCID iD

References

Ca2⁺ imaging

TRPV1 antagonist decreases D1-like DA receptor and cocaine-induced Ca2⁺ influx