Abstract
Rationale
Neurotensin-1 (NT1) receptor agonists have been proposed as putative antipsychotic drugs. Recently, brain-penetrating NT analogs produced by stability-enhancing modification of the smallest NT fragment, NT(8–13), have demonstrated antipsychotic-like efficacy after acute systemic injection in several preclinical animal tests predictive for antipsychotic efficacy. However, the evidence regarding the persistence versus tolerance of these effects after repeated administration is ambiguous. Previous studies have used compounds that nonselectively activated both NT1 and NT2 receptors or used continuous slow, central infusion of doses rather than daily acute administration, both factors which may have contributed to the ambiguity in the literature regarding the emergence of tolerance.
Objectives
To determine if tolerance develops to the antipsychotic-like effects of NT1 receptor agonists, we investigated the effects of subchronic daily systemic administration of PD149163, a brain-penetrating NT analog with selectivity for the NT1 receptor, on amphetamine-induced locomotor activation, a classic preclinical test of antipsychotic efficacy.
Materials and methods
Sprague–Dawley rats were pretreated with eight consecutive daily subcutaneous (SC) injections of PD149163 or saline. On the ninth day, rats received a pair of SC injections consisting of PD149163 or saline, followed by amphetamine (0.5 mg/kg) or saline. Locomotor activity was then measured in photobeam-equipped cages.
Results
The results indicated that repeated daily administration of PD149163 was able to antagonize amphetamine’s locomotor-activating effect comparable to that of the first dose, despite that repeated administration of PD149163 produced an increase in baseline locomotor activity not seen after the first dose.
Conclusions
The results do not support the development of tolerance for the acute antipsychotic-like effect of NT1 agonists and thus lend support to the contention that NT1 agonists are viable candidates as putative novel antipsychotic drugs.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Joseph R. Goldenberg, Phyllis Huang, David Goldenberg, and James M. Clinton for their excellent technical assistance. DF and PDS are partially funded by NIMH grant MH62451.
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Feifel, D., Melendez, G., Murray, R.J. et al. The reversal of amphetamine-induced locomotor activation by a selective neurotensin-1 receptor agonist does not exhibit tolerance. Psychopharmacology 200, 197–203 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1197-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1197-5