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Published on: May 3, 2012
Reduced nicotine reward in obesity: cross-comparison in human and mouse
Julie A Blendy1, Andrew Strasser, Carrie L Walters
1Department of Pharmacology, 125 John Morgan Building, 3620 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6084, USA. blendy@pharm.med.upenn.edu
Rationale:
Tobacco use and obesity lead to significant morbidity and mortality.
Objective:
This study was conducted to investigate the factors maintaining smoking behavior in lean and obese individuals by utilizing a mouse/human cross-validation model of nicotine reward.
Methods:
In humans, a cigarette choice paradigm was used to examine the relative reinforcing value of nicotine in obese and non-obese smokers. Conditioned place preference (CPP) for nicotine was assessed in mice fed standard low fat rodent chow and mice rendered obese by a high fat diet.
Results:
In humans, obese smokers self-administered nicotine via cigarettes significantly less often than non-obese smokers and showed attenuated hedonic effects of nicotine-containing cigarettes compared to denicotinized cigarettes. Similarly, mice exposed to a high fat diet did not exhibit nicotine CPP, relative to control mice. mRNA levels for mu-opiate and leptin receptors were also downregulated in the ventral tegmental area of these mice.
Conclusions:
Together, these studies provide the first evidence for reduced nicotine reward in obese subjects and suggest that this may be mediated by dietary influences on the endogenous opioid system.
