Expression profiling of brain structures of dependent and non-dependent rats self-administering alcohol and naive controls
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ABSTRACT: 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: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.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of nucleus Accumbens of rats that self administered cocaine and were subjected to 1 or 30 withdrawal days with or without extinction tests. The groups consist of 1. Saline rats (Sal.) 2. Rats that self-administered cocaine for 10 days and that were subjected to a withdrawal period of 1 day (1W) 3. Rats that self-administered cocaine for 10 days and that were subjected to a withdrawal period of 1 day and to an extinction test for assessment of cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior (1C) 4. Rats that self-administered cocaine for 10 days and that were subjected to a withdrawal period of 30 days (30W) 5. Rats that self-administered cocaine for 10 days and that were subjected to a withdrawal period of 30 days and to an extinction test for assessment of cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior (30C)
Project description:DNA methylation profiling of nucleus Accumbens of rats that self administered cocaine and were subjected to 1 or 30 withdrawal days with or without extinction tests. The groups consist of 1. Saline rats (Sal.) 2. Rats that self-administered cocaine for 10 days and that were subjected to a withdrawal period of 1 day (1W) 3. Rats that self-administered cocaine for 10 days and that were subjected to a withdrawal period of 1 day and to an extinction test for assessment of cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior (1C) 4. Rats that self-administered cocaine for 10 days and that were subjected to a withdrawal period of 30 days (30W) 5. Rats that self-administered cocaine for 10 days and that were subjected to a withdrawal period of 30 days and to an extinction test for assessment of cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior (30C)
Project description:Gene expression profiling in dopaminergic brain structures of rats self-administering cocaine. Effect of histone deacetylase inhibition We have shown that injection of the HDAC inhibitor trichostatin A (TsA) to rats is sufficient to decrease their motivation to self-administer cocaine. The aim of the present study was to investigate alterations in gene expression patterns in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Nucleus Accumbens of rats self-administering cocaine and treated repeatedly with TsA, and compare them with rats taking only cocaine. We used Affymetrix microarrays to identify genes the expression of which was up-regulated or downregulated during this process. Drug self-administration was performed in dark operant chambers under a fixed-ratio 1 schedule of reinforcement that was carried out for 4 days during daily 2 h sessions. Each nosepoke into the active hole triggered the i.v. delivery of a 40 μl cocaine solution (0,3 mg/kg/injection) under the control of the computer. Rats were sacrificed 2 h after the 4th self-administration session; the anterior cingulate cortex and the nucleus accumbens were then dissected. Two treatments comparison
Project description:DNA methylation profiling of nucleus Accumbens of rats that self administered cocaine, were subjected to 30 withdrawal days, were treated with aCSF, RG108 or SAM and were subjected to extinction tests. The groups consist of: 1. Rats that self-administered cocaine for 10 days and that were subjected to a withdrawal period of 30 days, were injected in the nucleus accumbens with aCSF and were subjected to an extinction test for assessment of cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior (aCSF) 2. Rats that self-administered cocaine for 10 days and that were subjected to a withdrawal period of 30 days, were injected in the nucleus accumbens with RG108 and were subjected to an extinction test for assessment of cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior (RG108) 3. Rats that self-administered cocaine for 10 days and that were subjected to a withdrawal period of 30 days, were injected in the nucleus accumbens with SAM and were subjected to an extinction test for assessment of cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior (SAM)
Project description:Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) and Sardinina alcohol-non preferring (sNP) rats have been selectively bred for opposite alcohol preference and consumption. The project proposed to identify salivary markers distinguishing the two rat lines possibly correlated to alcohol preference, by a proteomic approach.
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.
Project description:To identify possible target molecules for acute alcohol intoxication therapy, we used microarray analysis to compare cerebella gene expression profiles of control and acute alcohol-intoxicated rats. We first established a model of acute alcohol intoxication in SD rats, and then used rat cDNA microarray to profile mRNA expression in the cerebella of alcohol-intoxicated rats (experimental group) and saline-treated rats (control group). A six chip study using total RNA recovered from three separate experimental groups and three separate control groups. We first established a model of acute alcohol intoxication in SD rats, and then used rat cDNA microarray to profile mRNA expression in the cerebella of alcohol-intoxicated rats (experimental group) and saline-treated rats (control group). Cerebellar tissues from three rats were ground to a mixed sample,so we use 3 rats in one group.
Project description:Drug-induced alterations in transcriptional regulation play a central role in establishing the persistent neuroplasticities that occur during drug addiction. Additionally, changes in gene expression associated with drug administration provide valuable insight into the molecular basis of drug abuse. The molecular mechanisms that underlie susceptibility to psychostimulant addiction remain unknown. Identifying the common gene transcriptional responses to psychostimulants can provide a mechanistic insight to elucidate the molecular nature of drug dependence. Male Wistar rats (4 weeks old) were acclimatized for a week to their housing conditions prior to experiments. Thereafter, they were divided into two groups: (cohort 1) 4 groups of rats (n=12 rats per group) given saline only (i.p., "drug-naive" rats); and (cohort 2): 3 groups of rats given either methamphetamine, amphetamine or methylphenidate (5 mg/kg,i.p., M-CM-"M-bM-^BM-,M-EM-^Sdrug-pretreated") for 7 days (2x daily) prior to behavioral assays. Conditioned place preference (CPP) tests were conducted a day after the final drug administration. Rats which showed CPP were evaluated for self-administration of the psychostimulants. [Cohort 1] A day after the final self-administration test, brains of 2-3 rats from each subgroups (i.e. those which showed the most robust self-administration), as well as 5 rats from the control group were removed for microarray analysis. The striatum (rostral part of the caudate putamen and the nucleus accumbens [NAc]) and the prefrontal cortex were dissected and immediately frozen at -70M-CM-^BM-BM-0C. Total RNA was isolated and gene expression profiling was conducted on independent pools of total RNA from 2-5 animals per group. [Cohort 2] A day after the final self-administration test, brains of 3 rats from each subgroups (i.e. those which showed the most robust self-administration), as well as 3 rats from the control group were removed for microarray analysis. The striatum (rostral part of the caudate putamen and the nucleus accumbens [NAc]) and the prefrontal cortex were dissected and immediately frozen at -70M-BM-0C. Total RNA was isolated and gene expression profiling was conducted on independent pools of total RNA from three animals per group.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of rat hippocampus 4.5h post intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) show that this treatment, which improves learning and memory processes in a variety of paradigms of implicit and explicit memory, regulates gene expression of genes related to cAMP-mediated signaling and regulation of synaptic plasticity, among others. Rats were implanted with a monopolar stainless steel electrode aimed at the lateral hypothalamus in the right hemisphere. Hippocampal gene expression was analyzed 4.5h post treatment comparing rats subjected to acute self-stimulation (2500 stimulation trains; ICSS group) with sham-operated rats (with electrode placement but placed in the ICSS without stimulation during 40 min.; Sham group). Two-condition experiment, ICSS and Sham. Every sample consisted of pooled hippocampi ipsilateral to the electrode from three rats. Slices between Bregma levels -2 and -4 were used for dissections of the hippocampi. Common reference design, comparing every condition versus a brain pooled tissue consisting of pooled hippocampal tissue ipsilateral to the electrode of sham-operated (n=3) and stimulated (n=3) rats. Biological replicates: 4 DBS and 4 sham. One replicate per array.