DESCRIPTION:

Following morphine exposure, expression profiles of 159 genes in the rat nucleus accumbens indicate that gene expression changes occur not only during exposure but also long after cessation of drug-treatment. This gene set comprises 47 genes found to cause morphine-induced gene expression after 3 weeks of abstinence.

LABEL:

DiffExpr Morphine

SCORE TYPE:

P-Value

DATE ADDED:

2009-01-20

DATE UPDATED:

2024-04-25

SPECIES:

AUTHORS:

Spijker S, Houtzager SW, De Gunst MC, De Boer WP, Schoffelmeer AN, Smit AB

TITLE:

Morphine exposure and abstinence define specific stages of gene expression in the rat nucleus accumbens.

JOURNAL:

The FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology May 2004, Vol 18, pp. 848-50

ABSTRACT:

Intermittent exposure to addictive drugs causes long-lasting changes in responsiveness to these substances due to persistent molecular and cellular alterations within the meso-corticolimbic system. In this report, we studied the expression profiles of 159 genes in the rat nucleus accumbens during morphine exposure (14 days, 10 mg/kg s.c.) and drug-abstinence (3 weeks). We used real-time quantitative PCR to monitor gene expression after establishing its sensitivity and resolution to resolve small changes in expression for genes in various abundance classes. Morphine-exposure (5 time points) and subsequent abstinence (6 time points) induced phase-specific temporal gene expression of distinct functional groups of genes, for example, short-term homeostatic responses. Opiate withdrawal appeared to be a new stimulus in terms of gene expression and mediates a marked wave of gene repression. Prolonged abstinence resulted in persistently changed expression levels of genes involved in neuronal outgrowth and re-wiring. Our findings substantiate the hypothesis that this new gene program, initiated upon morphine-withdrawal, may subserve long-term neuronal plasticity involved in the persistent behavioral consequences of repeated drug-exposure. PUBMED: 15033927
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