QTL for ethanol conditioned taste aversion on Chr3 at D3Mit11 (111.75 Mbp , Build 37)
Description:
ethanol conditioned taste aversion spans 86.75 - 136.75 Mbp (NCBI Build 37) on Chr3. This interval was obtained by using an interval width of 25 Mbp around the peak marker (Build 37, MGI, http://informatics.jax.org).
QTL for METH responses for body temperature on Chr3 at Gnat2 (111.75 Mbp , Build 37)
Description:
METH responses for body temperature spans 86.75 - 136.75 Mbp (NCBI Build 37) on Chr3. This interval was obtained by using an interval width of 25 Mbp around the peak marker (Build 37, MGI, http://informatics.jax.org).
Ethanol Induced Hypothermia Chr# 3 rs3710548 (145932289) with right flanking marker rs3719390 (85222358) and left marker rs30801216 (156802752). This was mapped in 300 + (b6x129)F2 mice.
Alcohol transcriptome changes in mice microglia p-value
Description:
Microglia are fundamentally important immune cells within the central nervous system (CNS) that respond to environmental challenges to maintain normal physiological processes. Alterations in steady-state cellular function and over-activation of microglia can facilitate the initiation and progression of neuropathological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and Major Depressive Disorder. Alcohol consumption disrupts signaling pathways including both innate and adaptive immune responses that are necessary for CNS homeostasis. Coordinate expression of these genes is not ascertained from an admixture of CNS cell-types, underscoring the importance of examining isolated cellular populations to reveal systematic gene expression changes arising from mature microglia. Unbiased RNA-Seq profiling was used to identify gene expression changes in isolated prefrontal cortical microglia in response to recurring bouts of voluntary alcohol drinking behavior. The voluntary ethanol paradigm utilizes long-term consumption ethanol that results in escalated alcohol intake and altered cortical plasticity that is seen in humans. Gene coexpression analysis identified a coordinately regulated group of genes, unique to microglia, that collectively are associated with alcohol consumption. Genes within this group are involved in toll-like receptor signaling and transforming growth factor beta signaling. Network connectivity of this group identified Siglech as a putative hub gene and highlighted the potential importance of proteases in the microglial response to chronic ethanol. In conclusion, we identified a distinctive microglial gene expression signature for neuroimmune responses related to alcohol consumption that provides valuable insight into microglia-specific changes underlying the development of substance abuse, and possibly other CNS disorders.
Authors:
Gizelle M McCarthy, Sean P Farris, Yuri A Blednov, R Adron Harris, R Dayne Mayfield
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are nuclear hormone receptors that act as ligand-activated transcription factors. Although prescribed for dyslipidemia and type-II diabetes, PPAR agonists also possess anti-addictive characteristics. PPAR agonists decrease ethanol consumption and reduce withdrawal severity and susceptibility to stress-induced relapse in rodents. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms facilitating these properties have yet to be investigated. We tested three PPAR agonists in a continuous access two-bottle choice (2BC) drinking paradigm and found that tesaglitazar (PPARα/γ; 1.5 mg/kg) and fenofibrate (PPARα; 150 mg/kg) decreased ethanol consumption in male C57BL/6J mice while bezafibrate (PPARα/γ/β; 75 mg/kg) did not. We hypothesized that changes in brain gene expression following fenofibrate and tesaglitazar treatment lead to reduced ethanol drinking. We studied unbiased genomic profiles in areas of the brain known to be important for ethanol dependence, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and amygdala, and also profiled gene expression in liver. Genomic profiles from the non-effective bezafibrate treatment were used to filter out genes not associated with ethanol consumption. Because PPAR agonists are anti-inflammatory, they would be expected to target microglia and astrocytes. Surprisingly, PPAR agonists produced a strong neuronal signature in mouse brain, and fenofibrate and tesaglitazar (but not bezafibrate) targeted a subset of GABAergic interneurons in the amygdala. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) revealed co-expression of treatment-significant genes. Functional annotation of these gene networks suggested that PPAR agonists might act via neuropeptide and dopaminergic signaling pathways in the amygdala. Our results reveal gene targets through which PPAR agonists can affect alcohol consumption behavior.
Authors:
Laura B Ferguson, Dana Most, Yuri A Blednov, R Adron Harris
Differential gene expression in nucleus accumbens somatostatin interneurons_cocaine_mice_pvalue
Description:
To characterize transcriptional alterations that cocaine induces in these cells, we perform cell type-specific RNA-sequencing on FACS-isolated nuclei of somatostatin interneurons and identified 1100 DETs enriched for processes related to neural plasticity. To profile the entire (non poly-A selected) transcriptome of NAc somatostatin interneurons, we generated a transgenic reporter line (SST-TLG498 mice) to label the nuclei of these cells with a modified form of EGFP that is retained in the nuclear membrane (EGFP-F)22, enabling their isolation from NAc dissections using FACS. We succeeded in FACS-isolating nuclei suitable for RNA-sequencing from individual SST-TLG498 mice. We proceeded with differential expression analysis of the RNA-sequencing data to identify differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) in NAc somatostatin interneurons in response to repeated cocaine exposure: 778 transcripts were upregulated by cocaine and 322 were downregulated.
Authors:
Efrain A Ribeiro, Marine Salery, Joseph R Scarpa, Erin S Calipari, Peter J Hamilton, Stacy M Ku, Hope Kronman, Immanuel Purushothaman, Barbara Juarez, Mitra Heshmati, Marie Doyle, Casey Lardner, Dominicka Burek, Ana Strat, Stephen Pirpinias, Ezekiell Mouzon, Ming-Hu Han, Rachael L Neve, Rosemary C Bagot, Andrew Kasarskis, Ja Wook Koo, Eric J Nestler
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