Vulnerability to nicotine self-administration in adolescent mice correlates with age-specific expression of α4* nicotinic receptors.

The majority of smokers begin during adolescence, a developmental period with a high susceptibility to substance abuse. Adolescents are affected differently by nicotine compared to adults, with adolescents being more vulnerable to nicotine's rewarding properties. It is unknown if the age-dependent molecular composition of a younger brain contributes to a heightened susceptibility to nicotine addiction. Nicotine, the principle pharmacological component of tobacco, binds and activates nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the brain. The most prevalent is the widely expressed α4-containing (α4*) subtype which mediates reward and is strongly implicated in nicotine dependence. Exposing different age groups of mice, postnatal day (P) 44-86 days old, to a two bottle-choice oral nicotine self-administration paradigm for five days yielded age-specific consumption levels. Nicotine self-administration was elevated in the P44 group, peaked at P54-60 and was drastically lower in the P66 through P86 groups. We also quantified α4* nAChR expression via spectral confocal imaging of brain slices from α4YFP knock-in mice, in which the α4 nAChR subunit is tagged with a yellow fluorescent protein. Quantitative fluorescence revealed age-specific α4* nAChR expression in dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area. Receptor expression showed a strong positive correlation with daily nicotine dose, suggesting that α4* nAChR expression levels are age-specific and may contribute to the propensity to self-administer nicotine.