Proenkephalin mediates the enduring effects of adolescent cannabis exposure associated with adult opiate vulnerability.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Marijuana use by teenagers often predates the use of harder drugs, but the neurobiological underpinnings of such vulnerability are unknown. Animal studies suggest enhanced heroin self-administration (SA) and dysregulation of the endogenous opioid system in the nucleus accumbens shell (NAcsh) of adults following adolescent Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposure. However, a causal link between proenkephalin (Penk) expression and vulnerability to heroin has yet to be established.

Methods

To investigate the functional significance of NAcsh Penk tone, selective viral-mediated knockdown and overexpression of Penk was performed, followed by analysis of subsequent heroin SA behavior. To determine whether adolescent THC exposure was associated with chromatin alteration,

SUBMITTER: Tomasiewicz HC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3440551 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature