The effects of electronic nicotine vapor on voluntary alcohol consumption in female and male C57BL/6 J mice

M Echeveste Sanchez; S G Quadir; C M Whindleton; J L Hoffman; S P Faccidomo; T N Guhr Lee; C R Esther Jr; C W Hodge; M A Herman

doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109676

The effects of electronic nicotine vapor on voluntary alcohol consumption in female and male C57BL/6 J mice

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2022 Dec 1:241:109676. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109676. Epub 2022 Oct 26.

Authors

M Echeveste Sanchez¹, S G Quadir², C M Whindleton¹, J L Hoffman¹, S P Faccidomo¹, T N Guhr Lee³, C R Esther Jr³, C W Hodge⁴, M A Herman⁵

Affiliations

¹ Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Curriculum in Neurobiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
² Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Curriculum in Neurobiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
³ Curriculum in Neurobiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Marsico Lung Institute/Cystic Fibrosis Research Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
⁴ Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Curriculum in Neurobiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
⁵ Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Curriculum in Neurobiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Electronic address: melissa_herman@unc.edu.

Abstract

Significance: Alcohol drinking and nicotine vaping often co-occur and dependence on both substances is common. However, the impact of nicotine vaping on alcohol consumption is not fully understood.

Methods: We examined the effects of nicotine vaping on ethanol drinking in female and male C57BL/6 J mice using an electronic nicotine delivery system and intermittent access two-bottle choice (IA-2BC) drinking. Mice were exposed to electronic nicotine vapor (3%) or propylene glycol/vegetable glycerol (PG/VG) control for 3 h sessions daily for 4 weeks and voluntary alcohol consumption was monitored. Nicotine vapor exposure was stopped and voluntary alcohol drinking was measured for a 2 week abstinence period. We also examined the effects of alcohol and nicotine on locomotion, temperature, and nicotine metabolism.

Results: Following acute nicotine vapor exposure, alcohol drinking was increased in males but not in females. Thermoregulation was disrupted following nicotine vapor exposure and voluntary drinking. Male and female mice displayed increased locomotor activity immediately following chronic nicotine vapor exposure, and an anxiolytic effect was seen in males. In nicotine vapor abstinence, female mice displayed increased alcohol consumption. Locomotor activity and anxiolytic effects remained elevated in male but not female mice. Female mice displayed higher levels of serum nicotine and hydroxycotinine, suggesting impaired metabolism following chronic drinking and nicotine vapor exposure.

Conclusion: Collectively, these results suggest that while both male and female ethanol-drinking mice experience the stimulatory effects of nicotine vapor, only in males is there a parallel increase in ethanol drinking and only females display impairments in nicotine metabolism after drinking.

MeSH terms

Alcohol Drinking
Animals
Ethanol / pharmacology
Female
Male
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Nicotine* / pharmacology
Vaping*

Substances

Nicotine
Ethanol

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

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