Chronic alcohol consumption from adolescence-to-adulthood in mice M-bM-^@M-^T Effect on gene expression in the hypothalamus
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ABSTRACT: We employed a paradigm of chronic moderate alcohol intake from adolescence-to-adulthood in mice, and analyzed the alcohol effect on both behavioral and hypothalamic gene expression changes. We employed a paradigm of chronic moderate alcohol intake from adolescence-to-adulthood in mice. Before chronic alcohol drinking began, mice (3 weeks old) were allowed to adapt to drinking tubes with both tubes containing water from experimental day 1-5. After adaptation period, mice were randomly aside to 5% alcohol group, 10% alcohol group or water-only control group (n=16-18). Chronic alcohol drinking lasted to day 57 of the experiment without any change and interruption. Then each mouse is sacrificed by decapitation, and the hypothalamus was dissected for rapid freeze and storage at -80 M-BM-:C. Hypothalamus tissue samples were used for total RNA extraction. RNA samples were pooled for microarray. For water-only group, nine mice were used to make three pools, with three equal amounts of RNA samples per pool. For alcohol group, nineteen mice were used to make nine pools, with one to three equal RNA samples per pool.
Project description:Here, we identify persistent and substantial variation in ethanol drinking behavior within an inbred mouse strain and utilize this model to identify gene networks influencing such non-genetic variation in ethanol intake. C57BL/6NCrl mice showed persistent inter-individual variation of ethanol intake in a two-bottle choice paradigm over a three week period, ranging from less than 1 g/kg to over 14 g/kg ethanol in an 18h interval. Whole genome microarray expression analysis in nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex and ventral tegmental area of individual animals identified gene expression patterns correlated with ethanol intake. Results included several gene networks previously implicated in ethanol behaviors, such as glutamate signaling, BDNF and genes involved in synaptic vesicle function. Additionally, genes functioning in epigenetic chromatin or DNA modifications such as acetylation and/or methylation also had expression patterns correlated with ethanol intake. Our results thus implicate specific brain regional gene networks, including chromatin modification factors, as potentially important mechanisms underlying individual variation in ethanol intake. Voluntary two-bottle choice drinking was performed as described previously (Khisti et al. 2006). Briefly, two bottles containing 10%(w/v) ethanol (Aaper Alcohol and Chemical Co. Shelbyville, KY) or tap water were placed into the home cage at the beginning of the dark cycle. Tube position was varied every two days (L, L, R, R). Drinking sessions lasted 18 hours/day followed by 6 hours access to water only. Mice had four consecutive drinking sessions followed by four days of abstinence repeated four times to give 16 total drinking sessions. Three brain regions were harvested 6 days after the last drinking session: prefrontal cortex (PFC), nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) as previously described (Kerns et al. 2005). Labeled cRNA from individual animals (n=19) was hybridized to a single microarray for each brain region (n=58 total microarrays).
Project description:Chronic alcohol exposure can cause myocardial degenerative diseases, manifested as cardiac insufficiency, arrhythmia, etc. These are defined as alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM). Alcohol-mediated myocardial injury has previously been studied through metabolomics, and it has been proved to be involved in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway related to the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids and oxidative phosphorylation, which tentatively explored the mechanism of ACM induced by chronic drinking. To further study the myocardial damage caused by alcohol, the mouse model of ACM successfully established previously was used to perform proteomics analysis on myocardial specimens. Fifty-six differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified, and they are involved in the KEGG pathway related to fatty acid biosynthesis, lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and the development of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The present study further demonstrated the underlying causes of myocardial damage caused by chronic alcohol consumption and lays the foundation for further research to clarify the underlying mechanism of ACM.
Project description:Background: Current evidence indicates that even low-level lead (Pb) exposure can have detrimental effects, especially in children. We tested the hypothesis that Pb exposure alters gene expression patterns in peripheral blood cells and that these changes reflect dose-specific alterations in the activity of particular pathways. Methodology/Principal Finding: Using Affymetrix Mouse Genome 430 2.0 arrays, we examined gene expression changes in the peripheral blood of female Balb/c mice following exposure to per os lead acetate trihydrate or plain drinking water for two weeks and after a two-week recovery period. Data sets were RMA-normalized and dose-specific signatures were generated using established methods of supervised classification and binary regression. Pathway activity was analyzed using the ScoreSignatures module from GenePattern. Conclusions/Significance: The low-level Pb signature was 93% sensitive and 100% specific in classifying samples a leave-one-out crossvalidation. The high-level Pb signature demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity in the leave-one-out crossvalidation. These two signatures exhibited dose-specificity in their ability to predict Pb exposure and had little overlap in terms of constituent genes. The signatures also seemed to reflect current levels of Pb exposure rather than past exposure. Finally, the two doses showed differential activation of cellular pathways. Low-level Pb exposure increased activity of the interferon-gamma pathway, whereas high-level Pb exposure increased activity of the E2F1 pathway. We isolate total RNA from 72 mouse whole blood samples. These included samples following a 2-week exposure to lead acetate trihydrate (untreated controls = 7; Low Pb 5ug/mL drinking water = 15; High Pb 50ug/mL drinking water = 15) and additional samples following a 2-week recovery period with plain drinking water (untreated controls = 7; Low Pb group = 15; High Pb group = 13).
Project description:Hepatocellular carcinoma is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and it is necessary to elucidate the mechanism of hepatocarcinogenesis. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high mortality rate and develops based on the chronic inflammatory hepatic disease. Therefore, novel prophylactic or therapeutic strategies are required to improve outcome. In this study, influence of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and retinoic acid (ATRA) on hepatocarcinogenesis was investigated in mouse. These results suggest that the control of NF-M-NM-:B signaling during the early stage of HCC development is important for the prevention of malignant transformation in hepatocytes. Genes induced by the following treatments in mice liver were investigated at 2 days or 7 days after treatment; DEN: diethylnitrosamine (treatment of DEN (drinking water 80 mg/L)) ATRA: retinoic acid (treatment of ATRA (drinking water 30 mg/L)) G0s2 siRNA : G0s2 knockdown mouse liver (treatment of G0s2 siRNA) Control siRNA: treatment of scramble siRNA (negative control)
Project description:We investigated the molecular mechanisms of chronic alcohol consumption or lipopolysaccharide insult by gene expression profiling in prefrontal cortex and liver of C57BL/6J mice. We identified similar patterns of transcriptional changes in brain and liver among three different alcohol consumption tests and lipopolysaccharide injection. We also demonstrated distinct genomic consequences of different types of alcohol consumption. The microarray experiment was performed to compare gene expression changes induced by three separate paradigms of alcohol consumption and immune activation by lipopolysaccharide injection. The three tests of alcohol consumption were the continuous chronic two bottle choice (Chronic), two bottle choice available every other day (Chronic Intermittent) and limited access to one bottle of ethanol (Drinking in the Dark). All alcohol studies utilized 20% ethanol and each treatment group had it's own control group which received only water. The immune activation test consisted of 2 lipopolysaccharide injections (1 mg/kg i.p.) spaced one week apart, with animals being sacrificed one week after the last injection. Control animals received saline injections. All studies used female, adult mice.
Project description:We analyzed cerebral cortices (CTX) and midbrains (MB) from male C57BL/6J mice subjected to a CIE, 2BC paradigm, which induces heavy drinking and represents one of the best available animal models for alcohol dependence and relapse drinking. Samples from CTX and MB of 21 mice: 7 Naïve, 7 Air-2BC, and 7 CIE-2BC. One channel was used for the actual sample, the second channel was used fot Internal QC Reference.
Project description:The objective of this study was to determine changes in gene expression within the extended amygdala following binge-like alcohol drinking by adolescent alcohol-preferring (P) rats. Starting at 28 days of age, P rats were given concurrent access to 15 and 30 % ethanol for 3 one-h sessions for 5 consecutive days each week until they were 49 days old. Rats were killed by decapitation 3 h after the first ethanol access session on the 15th day of drinking. RNA was prepared from micropunch samples of the nucleus accumbens shell (Acb-sh) and central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). Ethanol intakes were 2.5 to 3.0 g/kg/session. There were 154 and 182 unique named genes that significantly differed (FDR = 0.2) between the water and ethanol group in the Acb-sh and CeA, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) analyses indicated that adolescent binge drinking produced changes in the in biological processes involved in cell proliferation and regulation of cellular structure in the Acb-sh, and in neuron projection and positive regulation of cellular organization in the CeA. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis indicated that, in the Acb-sh, there were several major intracellular signaling pathways (e.g., cAMP-mediated and protein kinase A signaling pathways) altered by adolescent drinking, with 3-fold more genes up-regulated than down-regulated in the alcohol group. The cAMP-mediated signaling system was also up-regulated in the CeA of the alcohol group. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) indicated significant G-protein coupled receptor signaling and transmembrane receptor protein kinase signaling categories in the Acb-sh and CeA, respectively. Overall, the results of this study indicated that binge-like alcohol drinking by adolescent P rats is differentially altering the expression of genes in the Acb-sh and CeA, some of which are involved in intracellular signaling pathways and may produce long-term changes in neuronal function. Differences in gene expression in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) were compared in two groups of alcohol-preferring (P) rats, one given water only and the other given access to 15 & 30% ethanol during adolescence.
Project description:The objective of this study was to determine changes in gene expression within the extended amygdala following binge-like alcohol drinking by adolescent alcohol-preferring (P) rats. Starting at 28 days of age, P rats were given concurrent access to 15 and 30 % ethanol for 3 one-h sessions for 5 consecutive days each week until they were 49 days old. Rats were killed by decapitation 3 h after the first ethanol access session on the 15th day of drinking. RNA was prepared from micropunch samples of the nucleus accumbens shell (Acb-sh) and central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). Ethanol intakes were 2.5 – 3.0 g/kg/session. There were 154 and 182 unique named genes that significantly differed (FDR = 0.2) between the water and ethanol group in the Acb-sh and CeA, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) analyses indicated that adolescent binge drinking produced changes in the in biological processes involved in cell proliferation and regulation of cellular structure in the Acb-sh, and in neuron projection and positive regulation of cellular organization in the CeA. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis indicated that, in the Acb-sh, there were several major intracellular signaling pathways (e.g., cAMP-mediated and protein kinase A signaling pathways) altered by adolescent drinking, with 3-fold more genes up-regulated than down-regulated in the alcohol group. The cAMP-mediated signaling system was also up-regulated in the CeA of the alcohol group. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) indicated significant G-protein coupled receptor signaling and transmembrane receptor protein kinase signaling categories in the Acb-sh and CeA, respectively. Overall, the results of this study indicated that binge-like alcohol drinking by adolescent P rats is differentially altering the expression of genes in the Acb-sh and CeA, some of which are involved in intracellular signaling pathways and may produce long-term changes in neuronal function. Differences in gene expression in brain nucleus accumbens shell (Acb-sh) were compared in two groups of alcohol-preferring (P) rats, one given water only and the other given access to 15 & 30% ethanol during adolescence.
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:Male rats from one of four strains (Wistar, AA, HAD or P) were housed individually in standard hanging rodent cages (Ehret, Emmendingen, Germany) on a 12-hour light-dark cycle with lights on at 07:00 a.m.. Animals were provided with food (Sniff, Soest, Germany), tap water, 5, 10 and 20% (v/v) ethanol solutions ad libidum for 12 months. Control animals did not receive any alcohol. P rats and HAD rats were provided by Ting-Kai Li, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda. AA rats were provided by Petri Hyytiä and Kalervo Kiianmaa, Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. To find out which genes are differentially expressed in response to alcohol consumption, we investigated the pancreas of the animals with respect to gene expression in alcohol-drinking and control animals. Animals with the highest alcohol consumption were chosen from a series of rats. We obtained microarray data from pancreatic tissue of these animals by using Affymetrix RG U34A microarrays, which contain probes for 8799 transcripts.