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Accepted version

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2014-03-12

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/53223

Protracted treatment with MDMA induces heteromeric nicotinic receptor up-regulation in rat brain: an autoradiography study.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2014.02.014

Abstract

Previous studies indicate that 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) can induce heteromeric nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR, mainly of α4β2 subtype) up-regulation. In this study we treated Sprague-Dawley rats twice-daily for 10 days with either saline or MDMA (7 mg/kg) and killed them on day 11 to perform [125I]epibatidine binding autoradiograms on serial coronal slices. Results showed significant increases in nAChR density in the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, anterior caudate-putamen, somatosensory cortex, motor cortex, auditory cortex, retrosplenial cortex, laterodorsal thalamus nuclei, amygdala, postsubiculum and pontine nuclei. These increases ranged from 3% (retrosplenial cortex) to 30 and 33% (amygdala and substantia nigra). No increased α4 subunit immunoreactivity was found in up-regulated areas compared with saline-treated rats, suggesting a post-translational mechanism as occurs with nicotine. The percentage of up-regulation correlated positively with the density of serotonin transporters, according to the serotonergic profile of MDMA. The heteromeric nAChR increase in concrete areas could account, at least in part, for the reinforcing, sensitizing and psychiatric disorders observed after long-term treatment with MDMA.

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Compostos heterocíclics, Èxtasi (Droga), Amfetamines, Receptors nicotínics, Rates (Animals de laboratori)

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Heterocyclic compounds, Ecstasy (Drug), Amphetamines, Nicotinic receptors, Rats as laboratory animals

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Articles publicats en revistes (Farmacologia, Toxicologia i Química Terapèutica)
Articles publicats en revistes (Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB))

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CIUDAD ROBERTS, Andrés, et al. Protracted treatment with MDMA induces heteromeric nicotinic receptor up-regulation in rat brain: an autoradiography study. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. 2014. Vol. 53, num. 1-8. ISSN 0278-5846. [consulted: 19 of August of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/53223

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