Abstract
A model has been developed in which acute cocaine administration results in an enhanced T-dependent antibody response to sheep erythrocytes. This enhancement occurs when cocaine (30 mg/kg, twice in 1 day) is administered 1 or 2 days before sensitization with antigen, in mice older than 16 wk. Acute cocaine has been shown to elicit a rise in serum corticosterone, and the administration of exogenous corticosterone, under similar conditions as cocaine, also results in a similar immunoenhancement. Further evidence in support of a role by corticosterone is the lack of an enhancement in adrenalectomized mice and the ability of α-helical corticotropin releasing factor to block the enhancement by cocaine. The role of concomitant epinephrine release from the adrenal was addressed by adrenal demedullation. Eliminating epinephrine, but not corticosterone release, had no effect on the cocaine-induced immunoenhancement. The evidence presented provides support for a major role by corticosterone in mediating cocaine’s effects on at least one measure of immune function, the T-dependent antibody response.
Footnotes
-
Send reprint requests to: Dr. John Rosecrans, Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Box 980613 MCV Station, Richmond, VA 23298.
-
↵1 This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant DA 08161 and by Training Grant ES 07087.
-
↵2 Current address: Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Medicine, 80 East Concord St. S-105, Boston, MA 02118.
-
↵3 Current address: Immunotoxicology Program, Toxicology Research Laboratory, 1803 Building, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI 48674.
- Abbreviations:
- HIV
- human immunodeficiency virus
- AIDS
- acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
- SRBC
- sheep red blood cells
- CRF
- corticotropin-releasing factor
- αh-CRF
- α-helical corticotropin-releasing factor[9–41]
- EBSS
- Earle’s balanced salt solution
- AFC
- antibody forming cells
- SPLC
- splenocytes
- HPA
- hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
- ADX
- adrenaletomy
- AMX
- adrenal demedullation
- ACTH
- corticotropin
- VH
- vehicle
- Received May 7, 1996.
- Accepted September 12, 1996.
- The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
JPET articles become freely available 12 months after publication, and remain freely available for 5 years.Non-open access articles that fall outside this five year window are available only to institutional subscribers and current ASPET members, or through the article purchase feature at the bottom of the page.
|