Cn. Haile et al., Differential behavioral responses to cocaine are associated with dynamics of mesolimbic dopamine proteins in Lewis and Fischer 344 rats, SYNAPSE, 41(3), 2001, pp. 179-190
Differential behavioral and biochemical responses to drugs of abuse may ref
lect genetic makeup as suggested by studies of inbred Lewis (LEW) and Fisch
er 344 (F344) rats. We investigated locomotor activity, stereotypy signs, a
nd levels of specific proteins in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral t
egmental area (VTA) in these strains at baseline and following chronic admi
nistration of cocaine (30 mg/kg/day for 14 days). Using Western blot analys
is, we replicated our previous findings of baseline strain differences and
found lower levels of Delta FosB immunoreactivity in NAc of F344 vs. LEW ra
ts. F344 rats showed greater baseline locomotor activity, sniffing, and gro
oming compared to LEW rats. Chronic cocaine increased Delta FosB levels in
NAc in both strains, whereas adaptations in other proteins were induced in
F344 rats only. These included reduced levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)
in NAc and increased TH and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunore
activity in VTA. Chronic cocaine led to greater increases in overall stereo
typy in F344 vs. LEW rats and decreased exploratory behaviors in LEW rats.
Opposing effects by strain were seen in locomotor activity. Whereas F344 ra
ts showed higher initial activity levels that decreased with cocaine exposu
re (tolerance), LEW rats showed increased activity over days (sensitization
) with no strain differences seen at 14 days. Further, conditioned locomoto
r activation to vehicle injections was greater in F344 vs. LEW rats. These
results suggest that behavioral responsiveness to chronic cocaine exposure
may reflect dynamics of mesolimbic dopamine protein levels and demonstrate
the role of genetic background in responsiveness to cocaine. Synapse 41:179
-190, 2001. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.