The ventral tegmental area (VTA) plays an important role in reward and motivational processes that facilitate the development of drug addiction. Glutamatergic inputs into the VTA contribute to dopamine (DA) neuronal activation related to reward and response-initiating effects in drug abuse. Previous investigations indicate that alpha1-adrenoreceptors (α1-AR) are primarily localized at presynaptic elements in the ventral midbrain. Studies from several brain regions have shown that presynaptic α1-AR activation enhance glutamate release. Therefore, we hypothesized that glutamate released onto VTA-DA neurons is modulated by pre-synaptic α1-AR. Recordings were obtained from putative VTA-DA cells of male Sprague-Dawley rats (28–50 days postnatal) using voltage clamp techniques. Phenylephrine (10 µM) and methoxamine (80 µM), both α1-AR agonists, increased AMPA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) amplitude evoked by electrical stimulation of afferent fibers (p<0.05). This effect was blocked by the α1-AR antagonist prazosin (1 µM). Phenylephrine decreased the paired-pulse ratio and increased spontaneous EPSCs frequencies but not their amplitudes suggesting a presynaptic locus of action. No changes in miniature EPSCs (0.5 µM TTX) were observed after phenylephrine’s application which suggest that α1-AR effect was action potential dependent. Normal extra- and intracellular Ca2+ concentration seems necessary for the α1-AR effect since phenylephrine in low Ca2+ ACSF and depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores with thapsigargin (10 µM) failed to increase the AMPA EPSCs amplitude . Chelerythrine (1 µM, PKC inhibitor) but not Rp-cAMPS (11 µM, PKA inhibitor) blocked the α1-AR activation effect on AMPA EPSCs, indicating that a PKC intracellular pathway is required. These results demonstrated that presynaptic α1-ARs activation modulates glutamatergic inputs that affect VTA-DA neurons excitability. α1-ARs action might be heterosynaptically localized at glutamatergic fibers terminating onto VTA-DA neurons. It is suggested that drug-induced changes in α1-AR could be part to the neuroadaptations occurring in the mesocorticolimbic circuitry during the addiction process.

The increased activity and stereotyped behaviors that result from repeated administration of cocaine is called cocaine sensitization. This sensitized response has been postulated as one of the basic pathophysiological mechanisms in drug addiction. Recent evidence indicates that noradrenergic neurotransmission might be implicated in some of the behavioral effects of cocaine. The present article examined the role of alpha-adrenergic receptor agonists and antagonists in the development and expression of cocaine sensitization. Rats were injected once per day, for 7 consecutive days, with the alpha-1 receptor antagonist prazosin (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) 15 min before cocaine administration (15 mg/kg, i.p.). After 8 days, animals received a cocaine challenge (15 mg/kg, i.p.) and were tested for locomotion. Following a 7-day withdrawal period rats received a second cocaine challenge. One day after the last challenge, rats were reinstated to the initial protocol for 1 day. In another set of experiments, rats were injected twice per day with the alpha-2 receptor antagonists yohimbine (5 mg/kg, i.p.), idazoxan (0.25 mg/kg, i.p.), or with the alpha-2 agonist clonidine (0.025 mg/kg, i.p.), followed by cocaine injections (15 mg/kg, i.p.), for 7 consecutive days. Thereafter, the protocol was similar to that following prazosin administration. The results demonstrated that the alpha-1 receptor antagonist prazosin blocked the development and expression of cocaine sensitization. On the other hand, both alpha-2 antagonists failed to inhibit the development or the expression of cocaine sensitization. Instead, they produced an increase in locomotor activity during the first day of experimentation. The alpha-2 agonist clonidine attenuated the acute response to cocaine on day 1 and retarded the increased locomotor activity on the following 2 days. There was a dramatic increase in the level of sensitization after the first cocaine challenge. However, it inhibited the expression of cocaine sensitization during the reinstatement protocol. These results suggest that alpha adrenoreceptors play an important role in modulating different stages of cocaine sensitization and probably cocaine addiction.

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) plays an important role in reward and motivational processes involved in drug addiction. Previous studies have shown that alpha1-adrenoreceptors (α1-AR) are primarily found presynaptically at this area. We hypothesized that GABA released onto VTA-dopamine (DA) cells is modulated by presynaptic α1-AR. Recordings were obtained from putative VTA-DA cells of male Sprague-Dawley rats (28–50 days postnatal) using whole-cell voltage clamp technique. Phenylephrine (10µM; α1-AR agonist) decreased the amplitude of GABAA receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) evoked by electrical stimulation of afferent fibers (n=7; p<0.05). Prazosin (1µM, α1-AR antagonist), blocked this effect. Paired-pulse ratios were increased by phenylephrine application (n=13; p<0.05) indicating a presynaptic site of action. Spontaneous IPSCs frequency but not amplitude, were decreased in the presence of phenylephrine (n=7; p<0.05). However, frequency or amplitude of miniature IPSCs were not changed (n=9; p>0.05). Phenylephrine in low Ca2+ (1mM) medium decreased IPSC amplitude (n=7; p<0.05). Chelerythrine (a protein kinase C inhibitor) blocked the α1-AR action on IPSC amplitude (n=6; p<0.05). Phenylephrine failed to decrease IPSCs amplitude in the presence of paxilline, a BK channel blocker (n=7; p<0.05). Taken together, these results demonstrate that α1-ARs at presynaptic terminals can modulate GABA release onto VTA-DA cells. Drug-induced changes in α1-AR could contribute to the modifications occurring in the VTA during the addiction process.

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is the source of dopaminergic projections innervating cortical structures and ventral forebrain. Dysfunction of this mesocorticolimbic system is critically involved in psychiatric disorders such as addiction and schizophrenia. Changes in VTA dopamine (DA) neuronal activity can alter neurotransmitter release at target regions which modify information processing in the reward circuit. Here we studied the effect of α-2 noradrenergic receptor activation on the hyperpolarization-activated cation current (I h ) in DA neurons of the rat VTA. Brain slice preparations using whole-cell current and voltage-clamp techniques were employed. Clonidine and UK14304 (α-2 receptor selective agonists) were found to decrease I h amplitude and to slow its rate of activation indicating a negative shift in the current's voltage dependence. Two non-subtypeselective α-2 receptor antagonists, yohimbine and RS79948, prevented the effects of α-2 receptor activation. RX821002, a noradrenergic antagonist specific for α-2A and α-2D did not prevent I h inhibition. This result suggests that clonidine might be acting via an α-2C subtype since this receptor is the most abundant variant in the VTA. Analysis of a second messenger system associated with the α-2 receptor revealed that I h inhibition is independent of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and resulted from the activation of protein kinase C. It is suggested that the α-2 mediated hyperpolarizing shift in I h voltage dependence can facilitate the transition from pacemaker firing to afferent-driven burst activity. This transition may play a key role on the changes in synaptic plasticity that occurs in the mesocorticolimbic system under pathological conditions.

IntroductionCerebrovascular pathology is an early and causal hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), in need of effective therapies.MethodsBased on the success of our previous in vitro studies, we tested for the first time in a model of AD and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), the carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAIs) methazolamide and acetazolamide, Food and Drug Administration–approved against glaucoma and high‐altitude sickness.ResultsBoth CAIs reduced cerebral, vascular, and glial amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulation and caspase activation, diminished gliosis, and ameliorated cognition in TgSwDI mice. The CAIs also improved microvascular fitness and induced protective glial pro‐clearance pathways, resulting in the reduction of Aβ deposition. Notably, we unveiled that the mitochondrial carbonic anhydrase‐VB (CA‐VB) is upregulated in TgSwDI brains, CAA and AD+CAA human subjects, and in endothelial cells upon Aβ treatment. Strikingly, CA‐VB silencing specifically reduces Aβ‐mediated endothelial apoptosis.DiscussionThis work substantiates the potential application of CAIs in clinical trials for AD and CAA.

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) forms part of the mesocorticolimbic system and plays a pivotal role in reward and reinforcing actions of drugs of abuse. Glutamate transmission within the VTA controls important aspects of goal-directed behavior and motivation. Noradrenergic receptors also present in the VTA have important functions in the modulation of neuronal activity. Here we studied the effects of alpha-2 noradrenergic receptor activation in the alteration of glutamate neurotransmission in VTA dopaminergic neurons from male Sprague-Dawley rats. We used whole cell patch clamp recordings from putative VTA dopaminergic neurons and measured excitatory postsynaptic currents. Clonidine (40 μM) and UK 13,408 (40 μM), both alpha-2 receptor agonists, reduced (~ 40%) the amplitude of glutamate-induced excitatory postsynaptic currents. After clonidine administration, there was a dose-dependent reduction over the concentration range of 15–40 μM. Using yohimbine (20μM) and two other alpha-2 adrenergic receptor antagonists, idaxozan (40 μM) and atipemazole (20μM), we demonstrated that the inhibitory action is specifically mediated by alpha-2 receptors. Moreover, by inhibiting protein kinases with H-7 (75 μM), Rp-adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic (11 μM) and chelerythrine (1 μM) it was shown that the clonidine-induced inhibition seems to involve a selective activation of the protein kinase C intracellular pathway. An increased paired-pulse ratios and changes in spontaneous and miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents frequencies but not amplitudes indicated that the alpha-2 agonist’s effect was presynaptically mediated. It is suggested that the suppression of glutamate excitatory inputs onto VTA dopaminergic neurons might be relevant in the regulation of reward and drug seeking behaviors.

Alteration of the biological activity among neuronal components of the Mesocorticolimbic (MCL) system has been implicated in the pathophysiology of drug abuse. Changes in the electrophysiological properties of neurons involved in the reward circuit seem to be of utmost importance in addiction. The Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic-Nucleotide Current, Ih, is a prominent mixed cation current present in neurons. The biophysical properties of the Ih and its potential modulatory role in cell excitability depend on the expression profile of the Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide gated channel (HCN) subunits. We investigated whether cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization, an animal model of drug addiction, elicits region-specific changes in the expression of the HCN2 channel’s subunit in the MCL system. Tissue samples from the ventral tegmental area, prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens and hippocampus were analyzed using Western Blot. Our findings demonstrate that cocaine treatment induced a significant increase in the expression profile of the HCN2 subunit in both, its glycosylated and non-glycosylated protein isoforms, in all areas tested. The increase in the glycosylated isoform was only observed in the ventral tegmental area. Together, these data suggest that the observed changes in MCL excitability during cocaine addiction might be associated to alterations in the subunit composition of their HCN channels.

Chronic cocaine use produces long-lasting changes in reward circuits that may underlie the transition from casual to compulsive patterns of drug use. Although strong neuroadaptations within the mesocorticolimbic system are known to occur, the specific role of these drug-induced plasticities on sensitization remains to be elucidated. Here we investigate whether PKMζ, a protein involved in maintaining long-term potentiation (LTP), plays a role in these cocaine-induced changes in synaptic strengthening. We performed whole-cell voltage clamp recordings of putative ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) cells 24 hours after five days of 15 mg/kg i.p. cocaine or isovolumetric saline injections. We observed that superfusion of 5µM ZIP (PKMζ inhibitory peptide) decreased AMPA currents and AMPA/NMDA ratios only in cocaine sensitized rats. In vivo ZIP microinfusions (10 nmol) into the VTA after cocaine sensitization decreased locomotor activity on a subsequent cocaine challenge only if given ZIP is given before the withdrawal period. On the other hand, ZIP microinfusions into the nucleus accumbens (NAc) core after a seven days withdrawal period disrupt the expression of locomotor sensitization. The present data provide a potentially relevant region, and time-specific PKMζ-dependent brain mechanism that enables sensitization. Our results support the vision that addiction involves a pathological learning process. They imply that if this synaptic strengthening is reversed, changes in the behavioral response may also be overturned.