ArticleAlcoholism, clinical and experimental research2015
Evidence that Melanocortin Receptor Agonist Melanotan-II Synergistically Augments the Ability of Naltrexone to Blunt Binge-Like Ethanol Intake in Male C57BL/6J Mice.
Article in Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Preliminary, Open-Label Study of Naltrexone and Bupropion Combination Therapy for Treating Binge Drinking in Human Subjects.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2020Trial
- Chronic intermittent ethanol produces nociception through endocannabinoid-independent mechanisms in mice.Neuropharmacology · 2025Article
- Chronic intermittent ethanol produces nociception through endocannabinoid-independent mechanisms in mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Regulation of alcohol drinking by ventral striatum and extended amygdala circuitry.Neuropharmacology · 2022Review
- The Role of Melanocortin Plasticity in Pain-Related Outcomes After Alcohol Exposure.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Review
- The melanocortin system as a potential target for treating alcohol use disorders: A review of pre-clinical data.Brain research · 2020Review
- Chronic Chemogenetic Stimulation of the Nucleus Accumbens Produces Lasting Reductions in Binge Drinking and Ameliorates Alcohol-Related Morphological and Transcriptional Changes.Brain sciences · 2020Article
- Effects of Tacrolimus and Other Immune Targeting Compounds on Binge-Like Ethanol Drinking in High Drinking in the Dark Mice.Neuroscience insights · 2020Article
- Bupropion, Alone and in Combination with Naltrexone, Blunts Binge-Like Ethanol Drinking and Intake Following Chronic Intermittent Access to Ethanol in Male C57BL/6J Mice.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Article
- High Drinking in the Dark (HDID) mice are sensitive to the effects of some clinically relevant drugs to reduce binge-like drinking.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2017Article
- Nucleus Accumbens MC4-R Stimulation Reduces Food and Ethanol Intake in Adult Rats Regardless of Binge-Like Ethanol Exposure during Adolescence.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2017Article
- Preclinical Medication Development: New Targets and New Drugs.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe nonselective opioid receptor antagonist, naltrexone (NAL), reduces alcohol (ethanol [EtOH]) consumption in animals and humans and is an approved medication for treating alcohol abuse disorders. Proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived melanocortin (MC) and opioid peptides are produced in the same neurons in the brain, and recent preclinical evidence shows that MC receptor (MCR) agonists reduce excessive EtOH drinking in animal models. Interestingly, there is a growing body of literature revealing interactions between the MC and the opioid systems in the modulation of pain, drug tolerance, and food intake.
methodsIn the present report, a mouse model of binge EtOH drinking was employed to determine whether the MCR agonist, melanotan-II (MTII), would improve the effectiveness of NAL in reducing excessive binge-like EtOH drinking when these drugs were co-administered prior to EtOH access.
resultsBoth NAL and MTII blunt binge-like EtOH drinking and associated blood EtOH levels, and when administered together, a low dose of MTII (0.26 mg/kg) produces a 7.6-fold increase in the effectiveness of NAL in reducing binge-like EtOH drinking. Using isobolographic analysis, it is demonstrated that MTII increases the effectiveness of NAL in a synergistic manner.
conclusionsThe current observations suggest that activators of MC signaling may represent a new approach to treating alcohol abuse disorders and a way to potentially improve existing NAL-based therapies.
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