Effects of MS-153 on glutamate transporter 1 and cysteine/glutamate exchanger as well as ethanol drinking behavior in male P rats

摘要

Alcohol consumption is largely associated with alterations in the extracellular glutamate concentrations in several brain reward regions. We have recently found that glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1) is downregulated following chronic exposure to ethanol for five weeks in alcohol-preferring rats, and upregulation of the GLT-1 levels in nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex resulted, in part, in attenuating ethanol consumption. Cysteine glutamate antiporter (xCT) was also found to be downregulated after chronic ethanol exposure in P rats, and its upregulation could be valuable in attenuating ethanol drinking. In this study, we examined the effect of a synthetic compound, (R)-(−)-5-methyl-1-nicotinoyl-2-pyrazoline (MS-153), on ethanol drinking and expression of GLT-1 and xCT in the amygdala and hippocampus of P rats. P rats were exposed to continuous free-choice access to water, 15% and 30% ethanol, and food for five weeks, and then after which they received treatments of MS-153 or vehicle for five days. The results showed that MS-153 treatment significantly reduced ethanol consumption in P rats. It was revealed that GLT-1 and xCT expressions were downregulated in both the amygdala and hippocampus of ethanol-vehicle treated rats (ethanol vehicle group) as compared to water control animals. Importantly, MS-153 treatment upregulated GLT-1 and xCT expression in these brain regions. These findings provide important role of MS-153 on these glutamate transporters for the attenuation of ethanol drinking behavior.