RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The CB1 Receptor Positive Allosteric Modulator, ZCZ011, Attenuates Naloxone-Precipitated Diarrhea and Weight Loss in Oxycodone-Dependent Mice JF Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics JO J Pharmacol Exp Ther FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics SP JPET-AR-2021-000723 DO 10.1124/jpet.121.000723 A1 Julien C. Dodu A1 Rebecca K. Moncayo A1 M. Imad Damaj A1 Joel E. Schlosburg A1 Hamid I. Akbarali A1 Lesley D. O'Brien A1 Debra A. Kendall A1 Zhixing Wu A1 Dai Lu A1 Aron H. Lichtman YR 2021 UL http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2021/10/22/jpet.121.000723.abstract AB Opioid use disorder reflects a major public health crisis of morbidity and mortality where opioid withdrawal often contributes to continued use. However, current medications that treat opioid withdrawal symptoms are limited by their abuse liability or lack of efficacy. Although cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor agonists, including Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), ameliorate opioid withdrawal in both clinical and pre-clinical studies of opioid dependence, this strategy elicits cannabimimetic side effects as well as tolerance and dependence following repeated administration. Alternatively, CB1 receptor positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) enhance CB1 receptor signaling and show efficacy in rodent models of pain and cannabinoid dependence but lack cannabimimetic side effects. We hypothesize that the CB1 receptor PAM, ZCZ011, attenuates naloxone-precipitated withdrawal signs in opioid-dependent mice. Accordingly, male and female mice given an escalating dosing regimen of oxycodone, a widely prescribed opioid, and challenged with naloxone displayed withdrawal signs that included diarrhea, weight loss, jumping, paw flutters, and head shakes. ZCZ011 fully attenuated naloxone-precipitated withdrawal-induced diarrhea and weight loss and reduced paw flutters by approximately half, but its effects on head shakes were unreliable and it did not affect jumping behavior. The anti-diarrheal and anti-weight loss effects of ZCZ0111 were reversed by a CB1, not a CB2, receptor antagonist and were absent in CB1 (-/-) mice, suggesting a necessary role of CB1 receptors. Collectively, these results indicate that ZCZ011 completely blocked naloxone-precipitated diarrhea and weight loss in oxycodone-dependent mice and suggest that CB1 receptor PAMs may offer a novel strategy to treat opioid dependence. Significance Statement Opioid use disorder represents a serious public health crisis in which current medications used to treat withdrawal symptoms are limited by abuse liability and/or side effects. The CB1 receptor positive allosteric modulator (PAM), ZCZ011, which lacks overt cannabimimetic behavioral effects, ameliorated naloxone-precipitated withdrawal signs through a CB1 receptor mechanism of action in a mouse model of oxycodone dependence. These results suggest that CB1 receptor PAMs may represent a viable strategy to treat opioid withdrawal.