Effects of buprenorphine, methadone, and cariprazine on economic choice between remifentanil and food in squirrel monkeys.

We recently reported an economic choice task in which squirrel monkeys chose between differing amounts of remifentanil, a fast-acting opioid, or a food reward to develop a preclinical screen for evaluating potential pharmacotherapies for opioid dependence. Herein, two known opioid addiction treatments are evaluated using this task, as well as a potential new agent, cariprazine, a dopamine D2/D3 receptor partial agonist currently used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Preclinical rodent studies suggest this class of compounds may reduce opiate self-administration.

Structural and functional neuroimaging of the effects of the gut microbiome.

Interactions between intestinal microbiota and the central nervous system profoundly influence brain structure and function. Over the past 15 years, intense research efforts have uncovered the significant association between gut microbial dysbiosis and neurologic, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric disorders; however, our understanding of the effect of gut microbiota on quantitative neuroimaging measures of brain microstructure and function remains limited. Many current gut microbiome studies specifically focus on discovering correlations between specific microbes and neurologic disease states that, while important, leave critical mechanistic questions unanswered.

Economic choice between remifentanil and food in squirrel monkeys.

Traditional approaches for evaluating if compounds are reinforcing, and thus a risk for abuse, include preclinical self-administration procedures conducted in the absence of alternative reinforcers. While the track record of this approach for determining abuse potential is good, that for predicting efficacy of addiction treatments is not. An alternate approach would be economic choice between drug and nondrug rewards, with parametrically varied options from trial to trial.

Muscle cannabinoid 1 receptor regulates Il-6 and myostatin expression, governing physical performance and whole-body metabolism.

Sarcopenic obesity, the combination of skeletal muscle mass and function loss with an increase in body fat, is associated with physical limitations, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic stress, and increased risk of mortality. Cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R) plays a critical role in the regulation of whole-body energy metabolism because of its involvement in controlling appetite, fuel distribution, and utilization. Inhibition of CB1R improves insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity in pancreatic β-cells and hepatocytes.

Absence of cannabinoid 1 receptor in beta cells protects against high-fat/high-sugar diet-induced beta cell dysfunction and inflammation in murine islets.

Aims/hypothesis: The cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) regulates insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism in peripheral tissues. CB1R is expressed on pancreatic beta cells and is coupled to the G protein Gαi, suggesting a negative regulation of endogenous signalling in the beta cell. Deciphering the exact function of CB1R in beta cells has been confounded by the expression of this receptor on multiple tissues involved in regulating metabolism.

Comparison of tissue processing methods for microvascular visualization in axolotls.

The vascular system, the pipeline for oxygen and nutrient delivery to tissues, is essential for vertebrate development, growth, injury repair, and regeneration. With their capacity to regenerate entire appendages throughout their lifespan, axolotls are an unparalleled model for vertebrate regeneration, but they lack many of the molecular tools that facilitate vascular imaging in other animal models. The determination of vascular metrics requires high quality image data for the discrimination of vessels from background tissue.