Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

I t has been known that the reinforcing effects and long-term consequences of opioid are closely associated with nucleus accumbens (NAc) in the brain, a key region of the mesolimbic dopamine pathway. However, the proteins involved in neuroadaptive processes and withdrawal symptom in primates of opioid addiction have not been well explored. In the present study, we performed proteomes in the NAc of rhesus monkeys of opioid addiction and withdrawal intervention with clonidine or methadone. Two-dimensional electrophoresis was used to compare changes in cytosolic protein abundance in the NAc. We found a total of 46 proteins differentially expressed, which were further identified by mass spectrometry analysis. The identified proteins can be classified into 6 classes: metabolism and mitochondrial function, synaptic transmission, cytoskeletal proteins, oxidative stress, signal transduction and protein synthesis and degradation. Importantly, we discovered 14 proteins were significantly but similarly altered after withdrawal therapy with clonidine or methadone, revealing potential pharmacological strategies or targets for the treatment of opioid addiction. Our study provides a comprehensive understanding of the neuropathophysiology associated with opioid addiction and withdrawal therapy in primate models, which is helpful for the development of opiate withdrawal pharmacotherapies

Biography

Qian Bu is studying his Ph.D from Sichuan University. He has published more than 6 papers in reputed journals including J Proteomics, Neurotoxicology, Nanotechnology and so on