Project description:We examined microRNA expression profiles in amygdala (AMY), nucleus accumbens (NAC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) of male C57BL/6J mice exposed to 4 cycles of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) vapor. Animals were sacrificed at 0, 8, and 120 hr following the last ethanol exposure.
Project description:We examined global gene expression profiles in amygdala (AMY), nucleus accumbens (NAC), prefrontal cortex (PFC) and Liver of male C57BL/6J mice exposed to 4 cycles of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) vapor. Animals were sacrificed at 0, 8, and 120 hr following the last ethanol exposure.
Project description:Purpose: Identify the specific transcriptome alterations in astrocytes and microglia isolated from mouse prefrontal cortex (PFC) following a chronic intermittent ethanol vapor exposure paradigm Methods: We performed RNA-sequencing on astrocytes, microglia, and total homogenate tissue isolated from the PFC of C57BL/6J mice following chronic intermittent ethanol vapor exposure Results: We identified common neuroimmune gene expression response between cell types in response to CIE, unique networks of correlated genes differentially expressed in specific cell types, along with candidate pathways, biological processes and highly connected cell-type specific genes Conclusions: This study sheds light on the cell-specific effects of chronic ethanol and provides novel molecular targets for understanding ethanol dependence
Project description:We examined global gene expression profiles in amygdala (AMY), nucleus accumbens (NAC), prefrontal cortex (PFC) and Liver of male C57BL/6J mice exposed to 4 cycles of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) vapor. Animals were sacrificed at 0, 8, and 120 hr following the last ethanol exposure. Mice were exposed to 4 cycles of intermittent vapor [4 days of 16 hours vapor/ 8 hours air] with a week between each cycle. Before entry into the vapor chambers, animals were injected with pyrazole (1 mMol/kg) and either ethanol (1.6 g/kg) or saline (controls). Animals were sacrificed at 0, 8, and 120 hr following the last ethanol exposure. The liver 0 hr control group contained 7 animals. Otherwise there were 8 animals per group (treated, control) at each time point.
Project description:Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic mental illness in which patients often achieve protracted periods of abstinence prior to relapse. Epigenetic mechanisms may provide an explanation for the persisting gene expression changes that can be observed even after long periods of abstinence and may contribute to relapse. In this study we examined two stable histone modifications, histone 3 lysine 4 tri-methylation (H3K4me3) and histone 3 lysine 27 tri-methylation (H3K27me3), in the prefrontal cortex of Withdrawal Seizure Resistant (WSR) mice 21 days after 72 hours of ethanol vapor exposure. These histone modifications were selected because they are associated with active promoters (H3K4me3) and repressed gene expression in a euchromatic environment (H3K27me3). We performed a genome-wide analysis to identify differences in H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 levels in post-ethanol exposure vs. control mice by ChIP-seq. We detected a global reduction in H3K4me3 peaks and increase in H3K27me3 peaks in post-ethanol exposure mice compared to controls, these changes are consistent with persistent reductions in gene expression and suggest differential epigenetic regulation of genes during this post-exposure period. We also examined the correspondence between genes that displayed changes in H3K4me3 and/or H3K27me3 and were differentially expressed. The expression of 52% of the genes with altered H3K4me3 binding and 40% of genes with H3K27me3 differences found here is altered by ethanol exposure based on analysis of prior studies. Finally, pathway analysis of genes displaying changes in H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 revealed enrichment for genes involved in proteoglycan and calcium signaling pathways, respectively. The chromatin changes associated with the 21-day post-exposure period suggest that this period is a unique state in the addiction cycle that differs from ethanol intoxication and acute withdrawal. These results provide insights into the enduring effects of ethanol on proteoglycan and calcium signaling genes in the brain.
Project description:Rats were trained to orally self-administer alcohol in a concurrent, two-lever, free-choice contingency using a modification of the sweet solution fading procedure (O'Dell et al., 2004; Roberts et al., 2000; Vendruscolo et al., 2012). Following acquisition of self-administration, rats were allowed to self-administer unsweetened alcohol (10%) for 4 weeks and were then assigned to two groups matched by levels of responding: one group (dependent group) was exposed to chronic, intermittent ethanol vapors for 4 weeks to induce dependence; the other group (nondependent group) was not exposed to ethanol vapor. After a month of vapor exposure, rats were again tested during acute withdrawal (6-8 hours after removal from the vapor chambers) until stable levels of alcohol intake were achieved. As expected, alcohol vapor-exposed rats self-administered significantly greater amounts of alcohol than control rats not exposed to alcohol vapor during acute withdrawal. Rats were sacrificed during protracted abstinence (3 weeks after the end of alcohol vapor exposure) along with age-matched alcohol naive rats. 96 gene expression profiles (GEP) were obtained from 8 brain regions believed to be relevant in alcoholM-bM-^@M-^Ys reinforcing properties using the Affymetrix RN230.2 platform. Specifically, the following brain regions were microdissected and analyzed from nondependent and dependent alcohol self-administering rats as well as age-matched alcohol naive rats: (a) medial prefrontal cortex (MPF), (b) shell and (c) core NAc sub-regions, (d) central nucleus (CeA) and (e) basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA), (f) dorsolateral and (g) ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), and (h) ventral tegmental area (VTA).
Project description:To understand how chronic intermittent ethanol vapor exposure changes the RNA content of brain-derived extracellular vesicles, we isolated total RNA and used lncRNA/mRNA microarray analysis to examine differential expression following CIE exposure in male animals
Project description:To understand how chronic intermittent ethanol vapor exposure changes the RNA content of brain-derived extracellular vesicles, we isolated total RNA and used lncRNA/mRNA microarray analysis to examine differential expression following CIE exposure in female animals
Project description:To better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying ethanol action we have developed an assay system to study sensitivity and fast and chronic tolerance to the sedative effects of ethanol. Flies developed fast ethanol tolerance after single exposure to 50% of ethanol vapor for 40 min. Flies can also develope chronic ethanol tolerance after 5x 40 min exposure to 50% ethanol vapor interspersed with 4x 80 min exposure to 10% ethanol vapor. We used microarray analysis to identify genes involved in the development of fast and chronic ethanol tolerance in Drosophila. More than 600 hundred genes were found to have changed their expression level in response to different ethanol treatment. Among these genes, Homer was picked for further study and is demonstrated that its expression in ellipsoid body is critical for the normal sensitivity and fast toleance to ethanol. Keywords: time course