Voluntary alcohol drinking enhances proopiomelanocortin gene expression in nucleus accumbens shell and hypothalamus of Sardinian alcohol-preferring rats.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Evidence obtained in humans and rodents indicates that beta-endorphin (encoded by the proopiomelanocortin [POMC] gene) is critical in the regulation of alcohol drinking behavior. However, the alcohol effect on POMC gene expression has not been studied in rodent mesolimbic regions, such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc).

Methods

In this study, we first utilized POMC-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) transgenic mice to visualize POMC neurons and found that POMC-EGFP cells were modestly distributed throughout the NAc shell and core, in addition to the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. POMC mRNA expression in the NAc of mice and rats was confirmed using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and solution hybridization assays. We then investigated whether the

SUBMITTER: Zhou Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3777244 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature