Stereoselective Actions of Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) To Inhibit Dopamine and Norepinephrine Transporters and Facilitate Intracranial Self-Stimulation in Rats

The designer stimulant methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) is a potent reuptake inhibitor at transporters for dopamine (DAT) and norepinephrine (NET) that produces a constellation of abuse-related behavioral effects. MDPV possesses a chiral center, and the abused formulation of the drug is a racemic mixture, but no data are available on the pharmacology of its isomers. Here, the individual optical isomers of MDPV were prepared and examined with respect to their neurochemical actions on neurotransmitter reuptake and behavioral effects in an assay of intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) in rats. In assays of DAT uptake inhibition, S(+)MDPV (EC50 = 2.13 nM) was more potent than either (+/-)MDPV (EC30 = 4.85 nM) or R(-)MDPV (EC50 = 382.80 nM); the three drugs were less potent at NET uptake inhibition, with the same rank order of potency. Neither racemic MDPV nor its optical isomers inhibited the reuptake of serotonin at concentrations up to 10 mu M. S(+)MDPV produced an abuse-related and dose-dependent facilitation of ICSS, and the potency of S(+)MDPV (significant facilitation at doses >= 0.1 mg/kg) was greater than that of the racemate (significant facilitation at doses >= 0.32 mg/kg). R(-)MDPV failed to alter ICSS at doses up to 100 times greater than the lowest effective dose of S(+)MDPV. The results indicate that abuse-related neurochemical and behavioral effects of racemic MDPV reside primarily with its S(+) isomer.