Differential gene expression and chromatin accessibility in the rat medial prefrontal cortex mediating individual variability in vulnerability to opioid use

We characterized gene transcriptional activity in the medial prefrontal cortex of rats associated with individual differences in vulnerability to three distinct phases of opioid use disorder (OUD). Resilient rats showed many more changes in canonical pathway activity than Vulnerable rats in models of both early and advanced OUD, involving passive opioid exposure and opioid self-administration (SA), respectively. The Resilient/Vulnerable phenotype was also associated across phases with functionally specific gene networks, including those mediating epigenetic, neuroimmune, and neuroplasticity function. In contrast, we identified two phase-specific effects. First, differential activity of a myelination-related gene network was associated with Resilience/Vulnerability measured after passive morphine exposure. Second, expression of the calmodulin-inhibitor Pcp4, a gene recently implicated in a rat opioid SA GWAS analysis, was associated with Resilience/Vulnerability measured after SA but not after passive morphine exposure. Thus, we have identified both general and phase-specific transcriptional signatures involved in OUD vulnerability across its trajectory. TeaserAdaptations in the brain transcriptome are associated with resilience and vulnerability to opioid use disorder.