Attenuation of cocaine and heroin seeking by μ-opioid receptor antagonism.

Rationale: Evidence has implicated the endogenous opioids, in particular μ-opioid receptors, in emotional behavior and regulation of reward circuits, especially in the context of heroin addiction and hedonic responses to ingestive rewards. The μ-opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone (NTX) has been reported to be effective in preventing relapse to alcoholism and in reducing alcohol and cocaine craving during abstinence.

Objectives: The aim of the present experiments was to investigate the effects of a novel selective μ-opioid receptor antagonist GSK1521498 on cocaine and heroin seeking and the primary reinforcement of drug self-administration behavior.

Methods: Rats were first trained to self-administer cocaine or heroin and then to seek the drugs over prolonged periods of time under a second-order schedule of reinforcement, in which responding is maintained by contingent presentation of a drug-associated conditioned reinforcer. On a stable baseline, animals were treated with either GSK1521498 (0.1, 1, 3 mg/kg; IP) or NTX (0.1, 1, 3 mg/kg; SC) before each test session.

Results: Cocaine seeking was dose-dependently decreased following GSK1521498 treatment. However, the same treatment had no effect on cocaine self-administration under a continuous reinforcement schedule. Treatment with NTX had a less pronounced but similar effect. GSK1521498, but not NTX, dose-dependently reduced heroin seeking both before and after infusion of the drug although both increased heroin self-administration under continuous reinforcement.

Conclusions: These data suggest that GSK1521498, by reducing opioid receptor signaling at the μ-opioid receptor, may have therapeutic potential to reduce the propensity to seek cocaine or heroin and, additionally, to diminish the consequence of an initial relapse to heroin taking.