Methamphetamine (METH) is a commonly abused addictive psychostimulant, and METH-induced neurotoxic and behavioural deficits are in a sex-specific manner.However, there is lack of biomarkers to evaluate METH addiction in clinical practice, especially for gender differences. We utilized ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) to detect the serum metabolomics in METH addicts and controls, specially exploring the sex-specific metabolic alterations by METH abuse. We found that many differently expressed metabolites in METH addicts related to metabolisms of amino acid, energy, vitamin and neurological disorders. Further, METH abuse caused different patterns of metabolomics in a sex-specific manner. As to amino acid metabolism, L-phenylalanine, Ltryptophan and L-histidine in serum of male addicts and betaine in serum of female addicts were significantly changed by METH use. In addition, it seemed that purine and pyrimidine-related metabolites (e.g., xanthosine and adenosine 5 0 -monophosphate) in male and the metabolites of hormone (e.g., cortisol) and folate biosynthesis (e.g., 7,8-dihydrobiopterin and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid) in female were more sensitive to METH addiction. Our findings revealed that L-glutamic acid, L-aspartic acid, alphaketoglutarate acid and citric acid may be potential biomarkers for monitoring METH addiction in clinic. Considering sex-specific toxicity by METH, the metabolites of purine and pyrimidine metabolism in male and those of stress-related hormones in female may be used to facilitate the accurate diagnosis and treatment for METH addicts of different genders.
Cocaine abuse during adolescence increases the risk for developing drug addiction in later life, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. Here, adolescent cocaine-exposed (ACE) male mice models were established by giving once-daily intraperitoneal injections of 15 mg/kg cocaine to mice during adolescence (P28-P42). We found that ACE mice exhibited a higher sensitivity to subthreshold dose of cocaine (1 mg/kg) in adulthood, accompanied with triggered activities and dendritic spine density of pyramidal neuron, increased Dusp1 gene, as well as reduced protein levels and activity of dual specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP1) in mPFC. Specific overexpression of DUSP1 on mPFC glutamatergic neurons efficiently blocked cocaine-preferred behaviors and reduced mPFC activity, while knockdown of DUSP1 maintained cocaine-preferred behaviors and increased mPFC activity in ACE mice. MAPK-related signals, especially ERK1/2, might underlie the mediating effects of DUSP1. Collectively, these findings suggested that targeting mPFC DUSP1 may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment and attenuation of addiction susceptibility, particularly in addicts with a history of adolescent drugs exposure.
Adolescent cocaine abuse increases the risk for developing addiction in later life, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we establish adolescent cocaine‐exposed (ACE) male mouse models. A subthreshold dose of cocaine (sdC) treatment, insufficient to produce conditioned place preference (CPP) in adolescent mice, induces CPP in ACE mice during adulthood, along with more activated CaMKII‐positive neurons, higher dual specificity protein kinase phosphatase‐1 (Dusp1) mRNA, lower DUSP1 activity, and lower DUSP1 expression in CaMKII‐positive neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Overexpressing DUSP1 in CaMKII‐positive neurons suppresses neuron activity and blocks sdC‐induced CPP in ACE mice during adulthood. On the contrary, depleting DUSP1 in CaMKII‐positive neurons activates more neurons and further enhances sdC‐induced behavior in ACE mice during adulthood. Also, ERK1/2 might be a downstream signal of DUSP1 in the process. Our findings reveal a role of mPFC DUSP1 in ACE‐induced higher sensitivity to the drug in adult mice. DUSP1 might be a potential pharmacological target to predict or treat the susceptibility to addictive drugs caused by adolescent substance use.
As a highly addictive psychostimulant drug, paternal methamphetamine (METH) exposure enhances the risk of developing addiction to drugs in descendants, however the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a key brain region that implicated in susceptibility to drugs. Here, male adult mice were exposed to METH for 30 days, followed by mating with naive female mice to create the first-generation (F1) mice. In METH-sired mice, baseline levels of c-Fos were decreased but β1-adrenergic receptor (ADRB1) were increased in mPFC by paternal METH exposure. Trained with subthreshold-dosed administration of METH, METH-sired mice exhibited significant METH-preferred behaviors, accompanied with higher levels of c-Fos, ADRB1 and dendritic spines density in mPFC. Importantly, local blocking ADRB1 activity or specific knockdown of ADRB1 on excitatory neurons of mPFC, both efficiently inhibited METH-preferred behaviors in METH-sired mice. In parallel, levels of p-ERK1/2 and ΔFosB, as well as dendritic spine density were reduced by knocking-down mPFC ADRB1 in METH-sired mice. Collectively, these findings suggested that targeting ADRB1 signals in mPFC may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for preventing drug addiction, particularly in progeny with a history of paternal drugs exposure.
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