The high-affinity nAChR partial agonists varenicline and sazetidine-A exhibit reinforcing properties in rats

Varenicline (Chantix®, Champix®) is a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) partial agonist clinically approved for smoking cessation, yet its potential abuse liability properties have not been fully characterized. The nAChR ligand sazetidine-A has been reported as a selective full or partial agonist at α4β2* nAChR subtypes in in vitro studies. In the present studies, varenicline, sazetidine-A and nicotine exhibited inverted U-shaped dose–response functions under fixed-ratio (peak responding at 30, 60 and 10–30 μg/kg/inf, respectively) or progressive-ratio (peak responding at 30–60, 30–100 and 30 μg/kg/inf, respectively) schedules in rats trained to self-administer nicotine. Varenicline (ED50 0.2 mg/kg) and sazetidine-A (ED50 0.44 mg/kg) fully substituted for nicotine (ED50 0.09 mg/kg) in rats trained to discriminate nicotine (0.4 mg/kg, ip) from saline. The reinforcing and discriminative stimulus (DS) properties of sazetidine-A, varenicline and nicotine were attenuated by acute pretreatment with the non-selective neuronal non-competitive nAChR antagonist mecamylamine or the α4* nAChR-selective antagonist dihydro-β-erythroidine, but not by the α7 nAChR subtype antagonist methyllycaconitine. Drug-naïve rats acquired stable self-administration of varenicline (30 μg/kg/inf), and sazetidine-A (60 μg/kg/inf), at doses that supported peak responding under a fixed-ratio 3 schedule in nicotine-trained rats. Nonetheless, self-administration and re-acquisition of varenicline and sazetidine-A were less robust than nicotine. Thus, partial activation of α4β2* nAChRs by varenicline or sazetidine-A is sufficient to mimic the DS and reinforcing properties of nicotine in nicotine-experienced rats, although the reinforcing properties of partial agonists are diminished in nicotine-naïve rats. Future studies should assess nicotine withdrawal measures in animals chronically exposed to varenicline or sazetidine-A.

Research highlights
► The abuse liability profiles of varenicline or sazetidine have not been characterized.
► Sazetidine and varenicline supported self-administration in nicotine-trained rats.
► Sazetidine and varenicline supported lower rates of self-administration in nicotine-naive rats.
► Sazetidine and varenicline exhibited nicotine-like discriminative properties.
► Future studies should assess indices of nicotine withdrawal in test subjects after chronic exposure to varenicline or sazetidine.