Therapeutic potential of PIMSR, a novel CB1 receptor neutral antagonist, for cocaine use disorder: evidence from preclinical research

Cannabinoid CB1 receptors (CB1Rs) have been major targets in medication development for the treatment of substance use disorders. However, clinical trials with rimonabant, a CB1R antagonist/inverse agonist, failed due to severe side effects. Here, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of PIMSR, a neutral CB1R antagonist lacking an inverse agonist profile, against cocaine’s behavioral effects in experimental animals. We found that systemic administration of PIMSR dose-dependently inhibited cocaine self-administration under fixed-ratio (FR5), but not FR1, reinforcement, shifted the cocaine self-administration dose-response curve downward, decreased incentive motivation to seek cocaine under progressive-ratio reinforcement, and reduced cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking. PIMSR also inhibited oral sucrose self-administration. Importantly, PIMSR alone is neither rewarding nor aversive as assessed by place conditioning. We then used intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) to explore the possible involvement of the mesolimbic dopamine system in PIMSR’s action. We found that PIMSR dose-dependently attenuated cocaine-enhanced ICSS maintained by electrical stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle in rats. PIMSR itself failed to alter electrical ICSS, but dose-dependently inhibited ICSS maintained by optical stimulation of midbrain dopamine neurons in transgenic DAT-Cre mice, suggesting the involvement of dopamine-dependent mechanisms. Lastly, we examined the CB1R mechanisms underlying PIMSR’s action. We found that PIMSR pretreatment attenuated Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ(9)-THC)- or ACEA (a selective CB1R agonist)-induced reduction in optical ICSS. Together, our findings suggest that the neutral CB1R antagonist PIMSR deserves further research as a promising pharmacotherapeutic for cocaine use disorder.