Mount Sinai Researchers Identify Protein Involved in Cocaine Addiction
Signaling Pathway Can Be Studied to Develop New Drugs to Treat Cravings Without Abuse Potential
Mount Sinai researchers have identified a protein produced by the immune system—granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)—that could be responsible for the development of cocaine addiction.
A study showed that G-CSF can alter a mouse’s desire for cocaine, but not for other rewards. This effect is modulated by a brain region that plays a central role in reward processing and addiction. If applicable to humans, these findings represent a potential therapeutic approach to decrease a cocaine addict’s motivation to seek the drug without introducing a potential new substance for abuse.
The results of the study will be published online in Nature Communications on January 16th at 11am EST.
Previous research has demonstrated a link between cocaine use and the immune system in humans and animals, with addicts showing altered immune responses to drugs and drug cues. In this study, the research team identified G-CSF—a cytokine produced by immune cells which was expressed at higher levels in both the blood and brain in mice that were treated with repeated doses of cocaine —. Injecting G-CSF into the nucleus accumbens, a brain region associated with reward, causes mice to take more cocaine, but does not change their motivation to consume a more natural reward, sugar water. Conversely, injecting an antibody that neutralizes G-CSF in the nucleus accumbens can reduce the mouse’s motivation to take cocaine.
Taken together, the results from this study suggest that manipulating G-CSF in the reward center of the brain changes the biochemical signals that push animals to take cocaine.
“The results of this study are exciting because outside of 12-step programs and psychotherapy, no medication-assisted therapy exists to treat cocaine addiction,” said the study’s senior author, Drew Kiraly, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Drugs that manipulate G-CSF already exist as FDA-approved medications. Once we clarify how G-CSF signaling can best be targeted to reduce addiction-like behaviors, there is a high possibility that treatments targeting G-CSF could be translated into clinical trials and treatments for patients.”
This study was supported by NIH grants DA044308, P01-DA008227 and DA042111 and from funds for the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, the Leon Levy Foundation, and the Seaver Family Foundation.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
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