Partial blockade of cocaine induced sensitization by activation of Wnt signaling pathway

SEVERIN, MA. JULIA; CUESTA, SANTIAGO; BATUECAS, JORGELINA A.; ROSSO, SILVANA B; PACCHIONI, ALEJANDRA M

Congreso; XXVII Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones en Neurociencias; 2012

Wnt factors are cistein rich secreted proteins that interact with their receptors: Frizzled, Ryk, and Ror. As a result of the interaction, Dishevelled (DVL) is activated, and consequently, one of three pathways: Wnt/b-catenin, Planar Cell Polarity, or Wnt/calcium pathways. Wnt signaling pathways are essential for development of the mammalian brain. However little is known regarding its role in adulthood. Preliminary results from our lab showed a decrease of b-catenin in Prefrontal Cortex after cocaine induced sensitization. It has been shown that Lithium Chloride (LiCl) increases b-catenin levels. Thus, in order to elucidate if the changes in b-catenin are related to behavioral sensitization we administered LiCl i.p. or into PFC before each cocaine injection during the treatment. Then we compared the behavioral response between first and last cocaine injection. Animals were sacrificed 24hs after last injection and brain areas were dissected. So far our results showed that systemic as well as intra-PFC LiCl injections partially blocked cocaine induced sensitization. Ongoing studies are aimed to evaluate if LiCl pretreatment also modifies b-catenin levels. Research supported by: PICT 2008-227(National Agency of Scientific Promotion; Argentina)