Effect of Selective Lesions of Nucleus Accumbens µ-Opioid Receptor-Expressing Cells on Heroin Self-Administration in Male and Female Rats: A Study with Novel Oprm1-Cre Knock-in Rats

The brain µ-opioid receptor (MOR) is critical for the analgesic, rewarding, and addictive effects of opioid drugs.

However, in rat models of opioid-related behaviors, the circuit mechanisms of MOR-expressing cells are less known because of a lack of genetic tools to selectively manipulate them.

We introduce a CRISPR-based Oprm1-Cre knock-in transgenic rat that provides cell type-specific genetic access to MOR-expressing cells.

After performing anatomic and behavioral validation experiments, we used the Oprm1-Cre knock-in rats to study the involvement of NAc MOR-expressing cells in heroin self-administration in male and female rats.

Using RNAscope, autoradiography, and FISH chain reaction (HCR-FISH), we found no differences in Oprm1 expression in NAc, dorsal striatum, and dorsal hippocampus, or MOR receptor density (except dorsal striatum) or function between Oprm1-Cre knock-in rats and wildtype littermates.

HCR-FISH assay showed that iCre is highly coexpressed with Oprm1 (95%-98%).

There were no genotype differences in pain responses, morphine analgesia and tolerance, heroin self-administration, and relapse-related behaviors.

We used the Cre-dependent vector AAV1-EF1a-Flex-taCasp3-TEVP to lesion NAc MOR-expressing cells.

We found that the lesions decreased acquisition of heroin self-administration in male Oprm1-Cre rats and had a stronger inhibitory effect on the effort to self-administer heroin in female Oprm1-Cre rats.

The validation of an Oprm1-Cre knock-in rat enables new strategies for understanding the role of MOR-expressing cells in rat models of opioid addiction, pain-related behaviors, and other opioid-mediated functions.

Our initial mechanistic study indicates that lesioning NAc MOR-expressing cells had different effects on heroin self-administration in male and female rats.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The brain µ-opioid receptor (MOR) is critical for the analgesic, rewarding, and addictive effects of opioid drugs.

However, in rat models of opioid-related behaviors, the circuit mechanisms of MOR-expressing cells are less known because of a lack of genetic tools to selectively manipulate them.

We introduce a CRISPR-based Oprm1-Cre knock-in transgenic rat that provides cell type-specific genetic access to brain MOR-expressing cells.

After performing anatomical and behavioral validation experiments, we used the Oprm1-Cre knock-in rats to show that lesioning NAc MOR-expressing cells had different effects on heroin self-administration in males and females.

The new Oprm1-Cre rats can be used to study the role of brain MOR-expressing cells in animal models of opioid addiction, pain-related behaviors, and other opioid-mediated functions.