Effect of chronic cocaine treatment on mu- and delta-opioid receptor mRNA levels in dopaminergically innervated brain regions.

The regulation of mu- (MOR) and delta-opioid receptor (DOR) after chronic cocaine administration has been studied. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated for 3 days with saline and cocaine (50 mg/kg/day) delivered by osmotic minipump. Expression of MOR and DOR mRNA in olfactory bulb, nucleus accumbens, and caudate-putamen (caudal and rostral parts) was estimated using quantitative competitive PCR assays after reverse transcription. No changes in the levels of mRNA for DOR were detected after exposure to cocaine in the brain regions examined. A significant increase in the level of MOR mRNA was detected in nucleus accumbens after 3 days of cocaine treatment. In caudate-putamen and olfactory bulb, no change in MOR mRNA was observed after cocaine administration. Both SCH 23390 and eticlopride, selective antagonists of D1- and D2-dopamine receptors, respectively, blocked this cocaine-induced up-regulation of MOR mRNA in nucleus accumbens. We suggest that endogenous opioid systems in nucleus accumbens, the brain region specifically associated with the reinforcing properties of addictive drugs, are regulated by dopaminergic mechanisms and influenced by cocaine treatment.