Identification of gene expression profile in the rat brain resulting from acute alcohol intoxication

This study aimed to identify gene expression profile in the rat brain resulting from acute alcohol intoxication (AAI). Eighteen SD rats were divided into the alcohol-treated group (n = 9) and saline control group (n = 9). Periorbital blood samples were taken to determine their blood alcohol content by gas chromatography. Tissue sections were analyzed by H and E staining and biochemical assays. Real-time reverse transcription PCR was used to validate microarray data. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS18.0 software (Version 18.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). H and E staining demonstrated that alcohol-treated rats showed no obvious pathological changes in nerve cells compared with those in the control group. Biochemical tests revealed that alcohol-treated rats had lower superoxide dismutase activity than those in the control group (167.3 ± 10.3 U/mg vs. 189.2 ± 5.9 U/mg, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the malondialdehyde levels in alcohol-treated rats were higher than those in the control group (3.48 ± 0.24 mmol/mg vs. 2.51 ± 0.23 mmol/mg, P < 0.05). Microarray data presented 366 up-regulated genes and 300 down-regulated genes in the AAI rat brain. Gene ontology analysis identified 31 genes up-regulated and 39 down-regulated among all differentially expressed genes. Twenty-four pathways showed significant differences, including 12 pathways involved with up-regulated genes and 12 pathways involved with down-regulated genes. Selected genes showed significantly different expression in both alcohol-treated and control groups (P < 0.05). Gene expression analysis enabled clustering of alcohol intoxication-related genes by function. These genes expression may be potential targets for treatment or drug screening for acute alcohol intoxication.