Brain forskolin binding in mice dependent on and tolerant to ethanol

Chronic ethanol ingestion by mice was previously shown to result in decreased activation of adenylate cyclase by guanine nucleotides and beta-adrenergic agonists, and in the loss of the high affinity beta-adrenergic agonist binding site in frontal cortex and hippocampus but not in cerebellum. These results indicate a regional specificity of ethanol's actions on beta-adrenergic receptors, the guanine nucleotide binding protein (Gs) and/or adenylate cyclase. To further detail the anatomical specificity of the effects of ethanol ingestion on receptor-coupled adenylate cyclase (AC) systems we have quantified the binding of [3H]forskolin to brain sections of control and ethanol-fed mice. High-affinity forskolin binding, thought to represent the complex of the alpha-subunit of Gs (as) and AC, was decreased in several brain areas including frontal cortex and hippocampus, but not in cerebellum, nucleus accumbens and certain other brain areas of ethanol-fed mice. Guanine nucleotides, such as Gpp(NH)p, generally enhanced forskolin binding in control animals. In ethanol-fed mice, however, Gpp(NH)p failed to enhance forskolin binding in most brain regions. These findings suggest that chronic ethanol ingestion may decrease the amount or function of as-AC in certain brain regions. Moreover, the regulation of the formation of this complex in different brain regions may affect responses to ethanol ingestion in mice.