Effects of novel beta-lactam, MC-100093, and ceftriaxone on astrocytic glutamate transporters and neuroinflammatory factors in nucleus accumbens of C57BL/6 mice exposed to escalated doses of morphine

Chronic exposure to opioids can lead to downregulation of astrocytic glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1), which regulates the majority of glutamate uptake. Studies from our lab revealed that beta-lactam antibiotic, ceftriaxone, attenuated hydrocodone-induced downregulation of GLT-1 as well as cystine/glutamate antiporter (xCT) expression in central reward brain regions. In this study, we investigated the effects of escalating doses of morphine and tested the efficacy of novel synthetic non-antibiotic drug, MC-100093, and ceftriaxone in attenuating the effects of morphine exposure in the expression of GLT-1, xCT, and neuroinflammatory factors (IL-6 and TGF-β) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). This study also investigated the effects of morphine and beta-lactams in locomotor activity, spontaneous alternation percentage (SAP) and number of entries in Y maze since opioids have effects in locomotor sensitization. Mice were exposed to moderate dose of morphine (20 mg/kg, i.p.) on days 1, 3, 5, 7, and a higher dose of morphine (150 mg/kg, i.p.) on day 9, and these mice were then behaviorally tested and euthanized on Day 10. Western blot analysis showed that exposure to morphine downregulated GLT-1 and xCT expression in the NAc, and both MC-100093 and ceftriaxone attenuated these effects. In addition, morphine exposure increased IL-6 mRNA and TGF-β mRNA expression, and MC-100093 and ceftriaxone attenuated only the effect on IL-6 mRNA expression in the NAc. Furthermore, morphine exposure induced an increase in distance travelled, and MC-100093 and ceftriaxone attenuated this effect. In addition, morphine exposure decreased the SAP and increased the number of arm entries in Y maze, however, neither MC-100093 nor ceftriaxone showed any attenuating effect. Our findings demonstrated for the first time that MC-100093 and ceftriaxone attenuated morphine-induced downregulation of GLT-1 and xCT expression, and morphine-induced increase in neuroinflammatory factor, IL-6, as well as hyperactivity. These findings revealed the beneficial therapeutic effects of MC-100093 and ceftriaxone against the effects of exposure to escalated doses of morphine.