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Kv7 channels in the nucleus accumbens are altered by chronic drinking and are targets for reducing alcohol consumption.

ABSTRACT: Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are a major public health issue and produce enormous societal and economic burdens. Current Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pharmacotherapies for treating AUDs suffer from deleterious side effects and are only effective in a subset of individuals. It is therefore essential to find improved medications for the management of AUDs. Emerging evidence suggests that anticonvulsants are a promising class of drugs for treating individuals with AUDs. In these studies, we used integrative functional genomics to demonstrate that genes that encode Kv7 channels (i.e. Kcnq2/3) are related to alcohol (ethanol) consumption, preference and acceptance in rodents. We then tested the ability of the FDA-approved anticonvulsant retigabine, a Kv7 channel opener, to reduce voluntary ethanol consumption of Wistar rats in a two-bottle choice intermittent alcohol access paradigm. Systemic administration and microinjections of retigabine into the nucleus accumbens significantly reduced alcohol drinking, and retigabine was more effective at reducing intake in high- versus low-drinking populations of Wistar rats. Prolonged voluntary drinking increased the sensitivity to the proconvulsant effects of pharmacological blockade of Kv7 channels and altered surface trafficking and SUMOylation patterns of Kv7.2 channels in the nucleus accumbens. These data implicate Kcnq2/3 in the regulation of ethanol drinking and demonstrate that long-term drinking produces neuroadaptations in Kv7 channels. In addition, these results have identified retigabine as a potential pharmacotherapy for treating AUDs and Kv7 channels as a novel therapeutic target for reducing heavy drinking.

SUBMITTER: McGuier NS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4689668 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Kv7 channels in the nucleus accumbens are altered by chronic drinking and are targets for reducing alcohol consumption.

McGuier Natalie S NS Griffin William C WC Gass Justin T JT Padula Audrey E AE Chesler Elissa J EJ Mulholland Patrick J PJ

Addiction biology 20150623 6

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are a major public health issue and produce enormous societal and economic burdens. Current Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pharmacotherapies for treating AUDs suffer from deleterious side effects and are only effective in a subset of individuals. It is therefore essential to find improved medications for the management of AUDs. Emerging evidence suggests that anticonvulsants are a promising class of drugs for treating individuals with AUDs. In these stud ...[more]

PMID: 26104325

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Project description:This study investigated changes in gene expression associated with ethanol drinking in adult male P rats under the following conditions for 8 weeks: continuous access (24 hr/day, 7 days/week), multiple scheduled access (three 1-hr sessions during the dark cycle/day, 5 days/week) and ethanol-naive (water). The objective of this study was to investigate changes in gene expression associated with ethanol drinking. Adult male alcohol-preferring (P) rats were given Ethanol in their home-cages under continuous access (CA; 24 hr/day, 7 days/week) or multiple scheduled access (MSA; three 1-hr sessions during the dark cycle/day, 5 days/week) conditions for 8 weeks. A third group was ethanol-naÃÂ¯ve (W group). Average ethanol intakes, across the 8 weeks, for the CA and MSA groups were approximately 9.5 and 6.5 g/kg/day, respectively. Fifteen hr after the last ethanol drinking episode, rats were euthanized, the brains rapidly extracted, and the nucleus accumbens (ACB) dissected. RNA was extracted and purified for microarray analysis. The only significant differences, overall, were between the CA and W groups (p < 0.01; Storey false discovery rate = 0.15); there were 374 significant differences in unique named genes between these 2 groups. There were 20 significant Gene Ontology (GO) biological processes categories, which included Ã¢ÂÂnegative regulation of protein kinase activityÃ¢ÂÂ, Ã¢ÂÂanti-apoptosisÃ¢ÂÂ, and Ã¢ÂÂregulation of G-protein-coupled receptor protein signaling pathwayÃ¢ÂÂ. IngenuityÃÂ® analysis indicated a network of transcription factors, involving oncogenes (Fos, Jun, Junb had higher expression levels in the ACB of the CA than W group), suggesting increased neuronal activity in the CA group. There were 13 genes (Hspa5, Stom, Lcn7, Tceb3, Cdc42, Rap1ga1, Ece1, Dhrs3, Plod1, Kif1b, Nmnat1, Srpr, Esam) significantly different between the CA and W groups located within both mouse and rat ethanol QTLs, suggesting that these genes may contribute to ethanol drinking behavior. In conclusion, the robust differences in gene expression found between the CA and W groups, but not observed between the MSA and W groups, may be a result of the higher daily ethanol intakes of the CA group, and/or its initial ethanol withdrawal. Experiment Overall Design: 10 samples each of control, continuous ethanol and limited access ethanol

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Dataset Information

Kv7 channels in the nucleus accumbens are altered by chronic drinking and are targets for reducing alcohol consumption.

Publications

Kv7 channels in the nucleus accumbens are altered by chronic drinking and are targets for reducing alcohol consumption.

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