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Genetically determined alcohol preference and cyclic AMP binding proteins in mouse brain.
K R Beeker1, R C Lee, H M Phung
1Department of Biochemistry, East Carolina University, School of Medicine, Greenville, North Carolina 27834.
Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research
|April 1, 1990
Summary
Alcohol consumption significantly impacts brain cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity. Strain-specific differences in cyclic AMP binding and regulatory subunit phosphorylation may serve as key markers for alcohol preference in mice.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
- Genetics
Background:
- Alcohol consumption affects brain function.
- Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) plays a role in cellular responses to various stimuli, including alcohol.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of alcohol consumption on PKA activity in mice with differing alcohol preferences.
- To determine if changes in PKA activity are strain-specific and correlate with alcohol preference.
Main Methods:
- Mice with varying alcohol preferences were allowed free-choice alcohol consumption.
- Brain PKA activity, including cyclic AMP binding and histone 2b phosphorylation, was measured.
- Particulate kinase phosphorylating activity toward the regulatory subunit (RII) of PKA was assessed.
Main Results:
- Alcohol uniformly decreased PKA activity toward histone 2b across all strains.
- Alcohol's effect on cyclic AMP binding and RII phosphorylation was strain-specific.
- Low-preference mice showed greater sensitivity to alcohol, with decreased cyclic AMP binding and increased RII phosphorylation.
- High-preference mice exhibited less pronounced changes in cyclic AMP binding and RII phosphorylation despite higher alcohol intake.
Conclusions:
- Strain-specific alterations in cyclic AMP binding and RII phosphorylation are linked to phenotypic differences in the brain's response to alcohol.
- These changes in PKA activity may serve as phenotypic markers for alcohol preference in inbred mouse models.