Oxytocin prevents ethanol actions at δ subunit-containing GABA_A receptors and attenuates ethanol-induced motor impairment in rats

Even moderate doses of alcohol cause considerable impairment of motor coordination, an effect that substantially involves potentiation of GABAergic activity at δ subunit-containing GABA_A receptors (δ-GABA_ARs). Here, we demonstrate that oxytocin selectively attenuates ethanol-induced motor impairment and ethanol-induced increases in GABAergic activity at δ-GABA_ARs and that this effect does not involve the oxytocin receptor. Specifically, oxytocin (1 μg i.c.v.) given before ethanol (1.5 g/kg i.p.) attenuated the sedation and ataxia induced by ethanol in the open-field locomotor test, wire-hanging test, and righting-reflex test in male rats. Using two-electrode voltage-clamp electrophysiology in Xenopus oocytes, oxytocin was found to completely block ethanol-enhanced activity at α4β1δ and α4β3δ recombinant GABA_ARs. Conversely, ethanol had no effect when applied to α4β1 or α4β3 cells, demonstrating the critical presence of the δ subunit in this effect. Oxytocin had no effect on the motor impairment or in vitro effects induced by the δ-selective GABA_AR agonist 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo(5,4-c)pyridin-3-ol, which binds at a different site on δ-GABA_ARs than ethanol. Vasopressin, which is a nonapeptide with substantial structural similarity to oxytocin, did not alter ethanol effects at δ-GABA_ARs. This pattern of results confirms the specificity of the interaction between oxytocin and ethanol at δ-GABA_ARs. Finally, our in vitro constructs did not express any oxytocin receptors, meaning that the observed interactions occur directly at δ-GABA_ARs. The profound and direct interaction observed between oxytocin and ethanol at the behavioral and cellular level may have relevance for the development of novel therapeutics for alcohol intoxication and dependence.