Disrupting astrocyte-neuron lactate transfer persistently reduces conditioned responses to cocaine

Mol Psychiatry. 2016 Aug;21(8):1070-6. doi: 10.1038/mp.2015.157. Epub 2015 Oct 27.

Abstract

A central problem in the treatment of drug addiction is the high risk of relapse often precipitated by drug-associated cues. The transfer of glycogen-derived lactate from astrocytes to neurons is required for long-term memory. Whereas blockade of drug memory reconsolidation represents a potential therapeutic strategy, the role of astrocyte-neuron lactate transport in long-term conditioning has received little attention. By infusing an inhibitor of glycogen phosphorylase into the basolateral amygdala of rats, we report that disruption of astrocyte-derived lactate not only transiently impaired the acquisition of a cocaine-induced conditioned place preference but also persistently disrupted an established conditioning. The drug memory was rescued by L-Lactate co-administration through a mechanism requiring the synaptic plasticity-related transcription factor Zif268 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signalling pathway but not the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf). The long-term amnesia induced by glycogenolysis inhibition and the concomitant decreased expression of phospho-ERK were both restored with L-Lactate co-administration. These findings reveal a critical role for astrocyte-derived lactate in positive memory formation and highlight a novel amygdala-dependent reconsolidation process, whose disruption may offer a novel therapeutic target to reduce the long-lasting conditioned responses to cocaine.

MeSH terms

  • Amygdala / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Arabinose
  • Astrocytes / metabolism*
  • Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / metabolism
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism
  • Cocaine / pharmacology
  • Cocaine-Related Disorders / physiopathology*
  • Cocaine-Related Disorders / psychology
  • Conditioning, Classical / drug effects
  • Conditioning, Psychological
  • Cues
  • Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases / metabolism
  • Imino Furanoses
  • Lactic Acid / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism
  • Memory / physiology
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Sugar Alcohols

Substances

  • Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Cuzd1 protein, rat
  • Imino Furanoses
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Sugar Alcohols
  • 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-iminoarabinitol
  • Lactic Acid
  • Arabinose
  • Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases
  • Cocaine