Background
Alcohol dependence is a complex psychiatric disorder demanding development of novel pharmacotherapies. Since the cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling cascade has been implicated in mediating behavioral responses to alcohol, key components in this cascade may serve as potential treatment targets. Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4), an enzyme that specifically catalyzes the hydrolysis of cAMP, represents as a key point in regulating intracellular cAMP levels. Thus, it was of interest to determine whether PDE4 was involved in the regulation of alcohol use and abuse.
Methods
Male Fawn-Hooded (FH/Wjd) rats were tested for 5% (v/v) ethanol and 10% (w/v) sucrose operant oral self-administration following treatment with the selective PDE4 inhibitor rolipram (0.0125, 0.025, or 0.05 mg/kg, s.c.); rolipram at higher doses (0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mg/kg, s.c.) was tested to determine its impact on the intake of ethanol, sucrose, or water using the two-bottle choice drinking paradigm. Subsequent open-field testing was performed to evaluate the influence of higher doses of rolipram on locomotor activity.
Results
Acute administration of rolipram dose-dependently reduced operant self-administration of 5% ethanol, but had no effect on 10% sucrose responding. Time-course assessment revealed significant decreases in ethanol consumption after rolipram (0.1, 0.2 mg/kg) treatment in continuous- and intermittent-access to ethanol at 5% or 10%, respectively. Moreover, chronic rolipram treatment time-dependently decreased 5% ethanol consumption and preference during treatment days and after the termination of rolipram administration. Rolipram at the highest doses (0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg) did decrease locomotor activity, but the effect lasted only 10 and 20 min, respectively, which did not likely alter long-term ethanol drinking.
Conclusions
These results suggest that PDE4 plays a role in alcohol seeking and consumption behavior. Drugs interfering with PDE4 may be a potential pharmacotherapy for alcohol dependence.
These results provide the first demonstration for that PDE4 plays a role in modulating the development of negative emotional reactions associated with ethanol abstinence, including anxiety and depression. PDE4 inhibitors may be a novel class of drugs for treatment of alcoholism.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.