In vivo imaging of translocator protein, a marker of activated microglia, in alcohol dependence.

Neuroinflammation may be a critical component of the neurobiology of alcohol use disorders, yet the exact nature of this relationship is not well understood. This work compared the brain and peripheral immune profile of alcohol-dependent subjects and controls. Brain levels of 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO), a marker of microglial activation and neuroinflammation, were measured with [11C]PBR28 positron emission tomography imaging in 15 healthy controls and 15 alcohol-dependent subjects. Alcohol-dependent subjects were imaged 1-4 days (n=14) or 24 days (n=1) after their last drink. Linear mixed modeling of partial-volume-corrected [11C]PBR28 data revealed a main effect of alcohol dependence (P=0.034), corresponding to 10% lower TSPO levels in alcohol-dependent subjects. Within this group, exploratory analyses found a negative association of TSPO levels in the hippocampus and striatum with alcohol dependence severity (P<0.035). Peripheral immune response was assessed in a subset of subjects by measuring cytokine expression from monocytes cultured both in the presence and absence of lipopolysaccharide. Peripheral monocyte response to lipopolysaccharide stimulation was lower in alcohol-dependent subjects compared with controls for the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 and interleukin-8. Thus, alcohol-dependent individuals exhibited less activated microglia in the brain and a blunted peripheral proinflammatory response compared with controls. These findings suggest a role for pharmaceuticals tuning the neuroimmune system as therapeutics for alcohol dependence.

Imaging of cerebral α4ß2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with (-)-[(18)F]Flubatine PET: Implementation of bolus plus constant infusion and sensitivity to acetylcholine in human brain.

The positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand (-)-[(18)F]flubatine is specific to α4ß2(⁎) nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and has promise for future investigation of the acetylcholine system in neuropathologies such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and substance use disorders. The two goals of this work were to develop a simplified method for α4ß2(⁎) nAChR quantification with bolus plus constant infusion (B/I) (-)-[(18)F]flubatine administration, and to assess the radioligand's sensitivity to acetylcholine fluctuations in humans. Healthy human subjects were imaged following either bolus injection (n=8) or B/I (n=4) administration of (-)-[(18)F]flubatine. The metabolite-corrected input function in arterial blood was measured. Free-fraction corrected distribution volumes (VT/fP) were estimated with modeling and graphical analysis techniques. Next, sensitivity to acetylcholine was assessed in two ways: 1. A bolus injection paradigm with two scans (n=6), baseline (scan 1) and physostigmine challenge (scan 2; 1.5mg over 60min beginning 5min prior to radiotracer injection); 2. A single scan B/I paradigm (n=7) lasting up to 240min with 1.5mg physostigmine administered over 60min beginning at 125min of radiotracer infusion. Changes in VT/fP were measured. Baseline VT/fP values were 33.8±3.3mL/cm(3) in thalamus, 12.9±1.6mL/cm(3) in cerebellum, and ranged from 9.8 to 12.5mL/cm(3) in other gray matter regions. The B/I paradigm with equilibrium analysis at 120min yielded comparable VT/fP values with compartment modeling analysis of bolus data in extrathalamic gray matter regions (regional means <4% different). Changes in VT/fP following physostigmine administration were small and most pronounced in cortical regions, ranging from 0.8 to 4.6% in the two-scan paradigm and 2.8 to 6.5% with the B/I paradigm. These results demonstrate the use of B/I administration for accurate quantification of (-)-[(18)F]flubatine VT/fP in 120min, and suggest possible sensitivity of (-)-[(18)F]flubatine binding to physostigmine-induced changes in acetylcholine levels.

Reductions in ethanol, phencyclidine, and food-maintained behavior by naltrexone pretreatment in monkeys is enhanced by open economic conditions.

RATIONALE: Previous results suggested that naltrexone had opioid-selective effects on behavior reinforced by orally delivered drugs and food. The present study explores the possibility that previous results were due to presentation of the reinforcers in a closed economy (all reinforcers earned by subjects) and that naltrexone's effect may be nonselective under conditions of an open economy (earned reinforcers supplemented by unearned). OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this experiment was to compare the effect of naltrexone on ethanol-, phencyclidine-(PCP), and food-reinforced responding under several open-economy conditions and compare them with those from a previous report using a closed economy. METHODS: Ethanol (8% w/v), PCP (0.25 mg/ml), and food were available under independent, concurrent, progressive-ratio (PR) schedules with water, and side positions were alternated daily. Three naltrexone doses (0.1, 0.3, and 1.0 mg/kg) were administered in a nonsystematic order for 5 days, with the 5-day pretreatment period serving as a control. Four economic conditions were compared: data for the closed economy were taken from a recently completed experiment using the same monkeys. The open-economy condition was varied by allowing free access to 1, 2 or 3 times the amount of drug or food that was earned during session later during a postsession time-out period. RESULTS: In an open economy, naltrexone nonselectively suppressed ethanol, PCP, and food-maintained behavior, in contrast to results in the previous study which used a closed economy, wherein naltrexone did not significantly suppress food- or PCP self-administration. As the economy for PCP, ethanol, and food became more open, the suppressant effects of naltrexone increased and, in many animals, behavioral measures decreased to zero. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that the economy under which drugs and food are self-administered is an important determinant of the effectiveness of naltrexone's ability to suppress drug- and food-reinforced behavior. The results also suggest that testing medications for drug abuse using a food control condition under a closed economy can bias the results toward a conclusion of selectivity of the treatment medication for drug-reinforced behavior.

Naltrexone pretreatment decreases the reinforcing effectiveness of ethanol and saccharin but not PCP or food under concurrent progressive-ratio schedules in rhesus monkeys.

The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether attenuation of ethanol consumption by naltrexone is the result of selective changes in the reinforcing effectiveness of drug and non-drug reinforcers. A range of naltrexone doses (0.1-1.0 mg/kg) was administered for 5 days, and the effects on the reinforcing effects of orally delivered 8% (w/v) ethanol, 0.25 mg/ml phencyclidine (PCP), 0.03% (w/v) saccharin and food were studied in eight rhesus monkeys. Food and liquids were available under independent and concurrent progressive-ratio (PR) schedules (ratio range 8-4096) during daily 3-h sessions. Ethanol-maintained responding was attenuated by 0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg doses of naltrexone, while saccharin-maintained responding was decreased at the 1.0 mg/kg dose. Furthermore, there was a significant linear trend that consumption of available ethanol and saccharin was attenuated dose-dependently by naltrexone. Following 5 days of naltrexone pretreatment, ethanol- and saccharin-maintained responding immediately returned to or exceeded baseline levels. Food- and PCP-maintained responding and intake were not significantly affected by any of the naltrexone doses examined. The decreased break point (BP) values for ethanol and saccharin suggest that their reinforcing effects are mediated through opioid reinforcement mechanisms. The lack of naltrexone attenuation of PCP- and food-maintained responding suggests that these reinforcers: 1) are not sensitive to naltrexone antagonism at the doses examined, 2) are mediated by non-opioid reinforcement mechanisms, and/or 3) have less intrinsic palatability.