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NPY signaling inhibits extended amygdala CRF neurons to suppress binge alcohol drinking.

ABSTRACT: Binge alcohol drinking is a tremendous public health problem because it leads to the development of numerous pathologies, including alcohol abuse and anxiety. It is thought to do so by hijacking brain systems that regulate stress and reward, including neuropeptide Y (NPY) and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). The central actions of NPY and CRF have opposing functions in the regulation of emotional and reward-seeking behaviors; thus, dysfunctional interactions between these peptidergic systems could be involved in the development of these pathologies. We used converging physiological, pharmacological and chemogenetic approaches to identify a precise neural mechanism in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a limbic brain region involved in pathological reward and anxiety behaviors, underlying the interactions between NPY and CRF in the regulation of binge alcohol drinking in both mice and monkeys. We found that NPY Y1 receptor (Y1R) activation in the BNST suppressed binge alcohol drinking by enhancing inhibitory synaptic transmission specifically in CRF neurons via a previously unknown Gi-mediated, PKA-dependent postsynaptic mechanism. Furthermore, chronic alcohol drinking led to persistent alterations in Y1R function in the BNST of both mice and monkeys, highlighting the enduring, conserved nature of this effect across mammalian species. Together, these data provide both a cellular locus and signaling framework for the development of new therapeutics for treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases, including alcohol use disorders.

SUBMITTER: Pleil KE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4376619 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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NPY signaling inhibits extended amygdala CRF neurons to suppress binge alcohol drinking.

Pleil Kristen E KE Rinker Jennifer A JA Lowery-Gionta Emily G EG Mazzone Christopher M CM McCall Nora M NM Kendra Alexis M AM Olson David P DP Lowell Bradford B BB Grant Kathleen A KA Thiele Todd E TE Kash Thomas L TL

Nature neuroscience 20150309 4

Binge alcohol drinking is a tremendous public health problem because it leads to the development of numerous pathologies, including alcohol abuse and anxiety. It is thought to do so by hijacking brain systems that regulate stress and reward, including neuropeptide Y (NPY) and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). The central actions of NPY and CRF have opposing functions in the regulation of emotional and reward-seeking behaviors; thus, dysfunctional interactions between these peptidergic system ...[more]

PMID: 25751534

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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.

Dataset Information

NPY signaling inhibits extended amygdala CRF neurons to suppress binge alcohol drinking.

Publications

NPY signaling inhibits extended amygdala CRF neurons to suppress binge alcohol drinking.

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