Opioid enhancement of the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine: evidence for involvement of mu and delta opioid receptors.

Abstract

Previous research in squirrel monkeys has shown enhancement of the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine by mu-opioid agonists, but not by the delta agonist BW373U86. To examine further the role of mu and delta receptor stimulation in the ability of opioid drugs to modulate the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine, the present study assessed the effects of cocaine alone and combined with SNC 80, a selective high-efficacy delta agonist, and fentanyl, a selective high-efficacy mu agonist. Five adult male squirrel monkeys were trained to discriminate i.m. injections of 0.3 mg/kg cocaine from saline under a fixed-ratio 10 schedule of food presentation. Cumulative doses of cocaine (0.03-1.0 mg/kg) engendered dose-related increases in drug-lever responding to a maximum of 100%, with a decrease in response rate observed at 1.0 mg/kg. Cumulative doses of SNC 80 (0.03-1.0 mg/kg) or fentanyl (0.001-0.01 mg/kg) resulted in a maximum of 22% and 48% drug-lever responding, respectively, accompanied by pronounced decreases in response rate. Administration of either SNC 80 (0.1-1.0 mg/kg) or fentanyl (0.001-0.01 mg/kg) prior to cumulative doses of cocaine produced dose-dependent leftward shifts in the cocaine dose-response function. When the selective delta antagonist naltrindole (1.0 mg/kg) was combined with SNC 80 (1.0 mg/kg) or fentanyl (0.01 mg/kg) prior to cumulative doses of cocaine, the leftward shift of the cocaine dose-response function produced by SNC 80 was blocked, whereas the leftward shift produced by fentanyl was not. By contrast, the mu antagonist naltrexone (0.3 mg/kg) blocked the cocaine-enhancing effects of fentanyl, but not of SNC 80. Combinations of SNC 80 (0.03-0.3 mg/kg) with fentanyl (0.001-0.003 mg/kg) resulted in leftward shifts in the cocaine dose-response function that were comparable in magnitude to the shifts in the cocaine dose-response function produced by either drug alone. These results suggest that opioid enhancement of the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine is mediated independently by delta- and mu-receptor mechanisms.