The Effects of the Dopamine Transporter Ligands JJC8-088 and JJC8-091 on Cocaine versus Food Choice in Rhesus Monkeys.

Although there are no Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for cocaine use disorder, several modafinil analogs have demonstrated promise in reducing cocaine self-administration and reinstatement in rats. Furthermore, the range of dopamine transporter (DAT) compounds provides an opportunity to develop pharmacotherapeutics without abuse liability. This study extended the comparison of JJC8-088 and JJC8-091, the former compound having higher DAT affinity and predicted abuse liability, to rhesus monkeys using a concurrent cocaine versus food schedule of reinforcement. First, binding to striatal DAT was examined in cocaine-naïve monkey tissue. Next, intravenous pharmacokinetics of both JJC compounds were evaluated in cocaine-experienced male monkeys ( = 3/drug). In behavioral studies, acute and chronic administration of both compounds were evaluated in these same monkeys responding under a concurrent food versus cocaine (0 and 0.003-0.1 mg/kg per injection) schedule of reinforcement. In nonhuman primate striatum, JJC8-088 had higher DAT affinity compared with JJC8-091 (14.4 ± 9 versus 2730 ± 1270 nM, respectively). Both JJC compounds had favorable plasma pharmacokinetics for behavioral assessments, with half-lives of 1.1 hours and 3.5 hours for JJC8-088 (0.7 mg/kg, i.v.) and JJC8-091 (1.9 mg/kg, i.v.), respectively. Acute treatment with both compounds shifted the cocaine dose-response curve to the left. Chronic treatment with JJC8-088 decreased cocaine choice in two of the three monkeys, whereas JJC8-091 only modestly reduced cocaine allocation in one monkey. Differences in affinities of JJC8-091 DAT binding in monkeys compared with rats may account for the poor rodent-to-monkey translation. Future studies should evaluate atypical DAT blockers in combination with behavioral interventions that may further decrease cocaine choice. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Cocaine use disorder (CUD) remains a significant public health problem with no Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments. The ability of drugs that act in the brain in a similar manner to cocaine, but with lower abuse liability, has clinical implications for a treatment of CUD.