Synthetic Anti-Cocaine Nanoaccine Successfully Prevents Cocaine-Induced Hyperlocomotion

Abstract

Cocaine is one of the most widely used and increasingly popular illicit psychoactive drugs. Unlike other commonly used substances of abuse, cocaine has no pharmacological therapies to treat addiction or aid in rehabilitation. Immunopharmacology has long been touted as a possible avenue to develop effective anticocaine therapies; however, lack of efficacy and designs which are not consistent with simple large-scale production have hindered vaccine translation. We have designed and synthesized a peptide-based anti-cocaine immunogen which we have shown is capable of inducing physiologically relevant immune responses in mice as part of a self-adjuvanting delivery system or in combination with the human-approved commercial adjuvant MF59. We have demonstrated that immunization with the reported vaccine elicits high titers of anti-cocaine IgG and prevents cocaine-induced hyperlocomotion in an in vivo murine model. This peptide-hapten immunogen along with self-adjuvanting liposomal-based delivery system provides a platform for the development of effective anti-drug vaccines.

COT-TT vaccine attenuates cocaine-seeking and cocaine-conditioned place preference in rats

“…Various preclinical studies support the effectiveness of various vaccines against cocaine to reduce the cocaine-induced reinforcing and psychomotor effects, through the generation of antibodies that sequester cocaine within blood vessels. 16–26 However, its usefulness has been limited in clinical trials due to low and/or variable antibody production. 22 , 41–46 In this sense, it is necessary to develop new vaccines and/or improve or optimize the cocaine vaccines already described and evaluated, for them to produce a greater amount of anti-cocaine antibodies.…”

“…Currently, there are various models of cocaine vaccines, 16–26 which have shown relative success in preventing cocaine from crossing the BB 27–30 and in reducing self-administration, 24 , 27–29 , 31–34 place-preference, 35 and locomotor activity, 18 , 19 , 21 , 25 , 29 , 36–40 induced by cocaine, in rodents. However, the efficacy of anti-cocaine vaccines has been largely limited by the modest levels of vaccine-induced antibodies and/or by a variable production of anti-cocaine antibodies, when evaluated in primates.…”