1 3242 137 HEPATIC NCOR1 DELETION EXACERBATES ALCOHOL-INDUCED LIVER INJURY IN MICE BY PROMOTING CCL2-MEDIATED MONOCYTE-DERIVED MACROPHAGE INFILTRATION. NUCLEAR RECEPTOR COREPRESSOR 1 (NCOR1) IS A COREPRESSOR OF THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE TRANSCRIPTION THAT HAS IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS IN METABOLISM AND INFLAMMATION, BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT ITS ROLE IN ALCOHOL-ASSOCIATED LIVER DISEASE (ALD). IN THIS STUDY, WE DEVELOPED MICE WITH HEPATOCYTE-SPECIFIC NCOR1 KNOCKOUT (NCOR1(HEP-/-)) USING THE ALBUMIN-CRE/LOXP SYSTEM AND INVESTIGATED THE ROLE OF NCOR1 IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF ALD AND THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS. THE TRADITIONAL ALCOHOL FEEDING MODEL AND NIAAA MODEL OF ALD WERE BOTH ESTABLISHED IN WILD-TYPE AND NCOR1(HEP-/-) MICE. WE SHOWED THAT AFTER ALD WAS ESTABLISHED, NCOR1(HEP-/-) MICE HAD WORSE LIVER INJURY BUT LESS STEATOSIS THAN WILD-TYPE MICE. WE DEMONSTRATED THAT HEPATOCYTE-SPECIFIC LOSS OF NCOR1 ATTENUATED LIVER STEATOSIS BY PROMOTING FATTY ACID OXIDATION BY UPREGULATING BMAL1 (A CIRCADIAN CLOCK COMPONENT THAT HAS BEEN REPORTED TO PROMOTE PEROXISOME PROLIFERATOR ACTIVATED RECEPTOR ALPHA (PPARALPHA)-MEDIATED FATTY BETA-OXIDATION BY UPREGULATING DE NOVO LIPID SYNTHESIS). ON THE OTHER HAND, HEPATOCYTE-SPECIFIC LOSS OF NCOR1 EXACERBATED ALCOHOL-INDUCED LIVER INFLAMMATION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS BY RECRUITING MONOCYTE-DERIVED MACROPHAGES VIA C-C MOTIF CHEMOKINE LIGAND 2 (CCL2). IN THE MOUSE HEPATOCYTE LINE AML12, NCOR1 KNOCKDOWN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED ETHANOL-INDUCED CCL2 RELEASE. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT HEPATOCYTE NCOR1 PLAYS DISTINCT ROLES IN CONTROLLING LIVER INFLAMMATION AND STEATOSIS, WHICH PROVIDES NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF TREATMENTS FOR STEATOHEPATITIS INDUCED BY CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION. 2022 2 5230 37 PRO-DOPAMINE REGULATOR (KB220) A FIFTY YEAR SOJOURN TO COMBAT REWARD DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (RDS): EVIDENCE BASED BIBLIOGRAPHY (ANNOTATED). BACKGROUND: WE ARE FACING A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE IN COMBATTING THE CURRENT OPIOID AND DRUG EPIDEMIC WORLDWIDE. IN THE USA, ALTHOUGH THERE HAS BEEN NOTABLE PROGRESS, IN 2017 ALONE 72,000 PEOPLE DIED FROM A NARCOTIC OVERDOSE. THE NIAAA & NIDA CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH INNOVATION TO CURB OR ELIMINATE THIS UNWANTED EPIDEMIC. THE CURRENT FDA LIST OF APPROVED MEDICATION ASSISTANCE TREATMENTS (MATS) WORK BY PRIMARILY BLOCKING DOPAMINE FUNCTION AND RELEASE AT THE PRE-NEURON IN THE NUCLEUS ACCUMBENS. WE OPPOSE THIS OPTION IN THE LONG TERM TERTIARY TREATMENT BUT AGREE FOR SHORT TERM HARM REDUCTION POTENTIAL. BIBLIOGRAPHY PRESENTATION: AS AN ALTERNATIVE MOTIF, THE UTILIZATION OF A WELL-RESEARCHED NEURO-NUTRIENT CALLED KB220 HAS BEEN INTENSELY INVESTIGATED IN AT LEAST 38 STUDIES SHOWING EVIDENT EFFECTS RELATED TO EVERYTHING FROM AMA RATE, ATTENUATION OF CRAVING BEHAVIOR, REWARD SYSTEM ACTIVATION INCLUDING BOLD DOPAMINE SIGNALING, RELAPSE PREVENTION, AS WELL AS REDUCTION IN STRESS, ANGER, AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIORS. WE ARE CONTINUING RESEARCH ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO GENETIC RISK, INCLUDING THE NOW PATENTED GENETIC ADDICTION RISK SCORE (GARS((R))) AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF "PRECISION ADDICTION MANAGEMENT (PAM)" TO POTENTIALLY COMBAT THE OPIOID/PSYCHOSTIMULANT EPIDEMIC. CONCLUSION: BASED ON ANIMAL RESEARCH AND CLINICAL TRIALS AS PRESENTED HEREIN, THE PRO-DOPAMINE REGULATOR KNOWN AS KB220 SHOWS PROMISE IN THE ADDICTION AND PAIN SPACE. OTHER NEUROBIOLOGICAL AND GENETIC STUDIES ARE REQUIRED TO HELP UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF THIS NEURO-NUTRIENT. HOWEVER, THE EVIDENCE TO DATE POINTS TO INDUCTION OF "DOPAMINE HOMEOSTASIS"ENABLING AN ASYMPTOTIC APPROACH FOR EPIGENETIC INDUCED "NORMALIZATION" OF BRAIN NEUROTRANSMITTER SIGNALING AND ASSOCIATED IMPROVED FUNCTION IN THE FACE OF EITHER GENETIC OR EPIGENETIC IMPAIRMENT OF THE BRAIN REWARD CASCADE (BRC).WITH THAT SAID, WE ARE ENCOURAGED ABOUT THESE RESULTS AS PUBLISHED OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS AND LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED ADVANCEMENTS RELATED TO APPROPRIATE NUTRIGENOMIC SOLUTIONS TO THE MILLIONS OF VICTIMS OF ALL ADDICTIONS (FROM DRUGS TO FOOD TO SMOKING TO GAMBLING AND GAMING ESPECIALLY IN OUR NEXT GENERATION) CALLED REWARD SURFEIT SYNDROME (RSS) IN ADOLESCENTS AND REWARD DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (RDS) IN ADULTHOOD. 2018 3 3841 30 IRON SUPPLEMENTATION REVERSES THE REDUCTION OF HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE IN HEPATIC DNA ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN RATS. BACKGROUND: ALCOHOL IS KNOWN TO AFFECT TWO EPIGENETIC PHENOMENA, DNA METHYLATION AND DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION, AND IRON IS A COFACTOR OF TEN-ELEVEN TRANSLOCATION (TET) ENZYMES THAT CATALYZE THE CONVERSION FROM METHYLCYTOSINE TO HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE. IN THE PRESENT STUDY WE AIMED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION AND FURTHER EFFECTS OF IRON ON ALCOHOL ASSOCIATED EPIGENETIC CHANGES. METHODS: TWENTY-FOUR MALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS WERE FED EITHER LIEBER-DECARLI ALCOHOL DIET (36% CALORIES FROM ETHANOL) OR LIEBER-DECARLI CONTROL DIET ALONG WITH OR WITHOUT IRON SUPPLEMENTATION (0.6% CARBONYL IRON) FOR 8 WEEKS. HEPATIC NON-HEME IRON CONCENTRATIONS WERE MEASURED BY COLORIMETRIC ASSAYS. PROTEIN LEVELS OF HEPATIC FERRITIN AND TRANSFERRIN RECEPTOR WERE DETERMINED BY WESTERN BLOTTING. METHYLCYTOSINE, HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE AND UNMODIFIED CYTOSINE IN DNA WERE SIMULTANEOUSLY MEASURED BY LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY/MASS SPECTROMETRY METHOD. RESULTS: IRON SUPPLEMENTATION SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED HEPATIC NON-HEME IRON CONTENTS (P < 0.05) BUT ALCOHOL ALONE DID NOT. HOWEVER, BOTH ALCOHOL AND IRON SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED HEPATIC FERRITIN LEVELS AND DECREASED HEPATIC TRANSFERRIN RECEPTOR LEVELS (P < 0.05). ALCOHOL REDUCED HEPATIC DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION (0.21% +/- 0.04% VS. 0.33% +/- 0.04%, P = 0.01) COMPARED TO CONTROL, WHILE IRON SUPPLEMENTATION TO ALCOHOL DIET DID NOT CHANGE DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION. THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN METHYLCYTOSINE LEVELS, WHILE UNMODIFIED CYTOSINE LEVELS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN ALCOHOL-FED GROUPS COMPARED TO CONTROL (95.61% +/- 0.08% VS. 95.26% +/- 0.12%, P = 0.03), SUGGESTING THAT ALCOHOL FURTHER INCREASES THE CONVERSION FROM HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE TO UNMODIFIED CYTOSINE. CONCLUSIONS: CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ALTERS GLOBAL DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION IN THE LIVER BUT IRON SUPPLEMENTATION REVERSES THE EPIGENETIC EFFECT OF ALCOHOL. 2016 4 4989 33 PCSK9 IS INCREASED IN CEREBROSPINAL FLUID OF INDIVIDUALS WITH ALCOHOL USE DISORDER. BACKGROUND: RECENT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT ALCOHOL USE AFFECTS THE REGULATION AND EXPRESSION OF PROPROTEIN CONVERTASE SUBTILISIN/KEXIN 9 (PCSK9). WHILE A MAJOR ROLE OF PCSK9 IN HEPATIC FUNCTION AND LIPID REGULATION HAS BEEN CLEARLY ESTABLISHED, OTHER PLEIOTROPIC EFFECTS REMAIN POORLY UNDERSTOOD. EXISTING RESEARCH SUGGESTS A POSITIVE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PCSK9 EXPRESSION IN THE BRAIN AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, WITH INCREASED LEVELS OF PCSK9 IN THE CEREBROSPINAL FLUID (CSF) OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DEMENTIA AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS OF PCSK9 ASSOCIATED WITH ALCOHOL USE DISORDER (AUD). IN THIS STUDY, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT CHRONIC ALCOHOL USE WOULD INCREASE PCSK9 EXPRESSION IN CSF. METHODS: PCSK9 LEVELS IN CSF WERE MEASURED IN INDIVIDUALS WITH AUD (N = 42) ADMITTED TO AN INPATIENT REHABILITATION PROGRAM AND CONTROLS (N = 25). CSF SAMPLES IN AUD WERE ASSESSED AT 2 TIME POINTS, AT DAY 5 AND DAY 21 AFTER ADMISSION. FURTHERMORE, PLASMA SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED AND MEASURED FROM THE INDIVIDUALS WITH AUD. RESULTS: PCSK9 IN CSF WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN THE AUD GROUP AT DAY 5 AND DAY 21 COMPARED TO THE CONTROLS (P < 0.0001). PLASMA PCSK9 LEVELS WERE CORRELATED POSITIVELY WITH CSF PCSK9 LEVELS IN AUD (P = 0.0493). CONCLUSIONS: OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT PCSK9 IS ELEVATED IN THE CSF OF INDIVIDUALS WITH AUD, WHICH MAY INDICATE A POTENTIAL ROLE OF PCSK9 IN AUD. ADDITIONAL STUDIES ARE NECESSARY TO FURTHER ELUCIDATE THE FUNCTIONS OF PCSK9 IN THE BRAIN. 2019 5 4081 38 MATERNAL MICRONUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTATION SUPPRESSES T CELL CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR EXPRESSION AND FUNCTION IN F1 MICE. PRENATAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN DETERMINING LATE-LIFE CHRONIC DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY. HOWEVER, THE MECHANISMS LINKING THE IN UTERO ENVIRONMENT AND DISEASE DEVELOPMENT IN THE OFFSPRING ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. RECENT INVESTIGATIONS HAVE CONFIRMED A CENTRAL PATHOGENIC ROLE OF T CELL CHEMOKINE RECEPTORS, PARTICULARLY C-C CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR (CCR) 2 AND CCR5, IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS. THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF A SYNTHETIC PRENATAL MICRONUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTATION (MS) DIET RICH IN METHIONINE PATHWAY METABOLITES ON THE T CELL CHEMOKINE SYSTEM IN F1 C57BL/6 MICE. FEMALE MICE WERE FED EITHER AN MS OR CONTROL DIET 3 WK PRIOR TO MATING, DURING PREGNANCY, AND LACTATION. AT 4 WK OF AGE, F1 MICE WERE KILLED FOR EXPERIMENTS OR WERE FED THE STANDARD NIH-31 DIET AND ALLOWED TO AGE. FOOD CONSUMPTION, MATERNAL WEIGHT GAIN, AND LITTER SIZE WERE SIMILAR IN DAMS FED THE CONTROL AND MS DIETS. HOWEVER, THE F1 OFFSPRING OF DAMS FED THE MS DIET WERE SMALLER IN SIZE (P < 0.001). T CELLS FROM THE MS F1 OFFSPRING HAD GLOBAL HYPERMETHYLATION COMPARED WITH CONTROL F1 OFFSPRING (P < 0.005), CORRESPONDING TO LOWER T CELL CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR EXPRESSION [CCR2 (P < 0.001), CCR5 (P < 0.001), AND C-X-C CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR 3 (P < 0.01)] AND CYTOKINE EXPRESSION [TNFALPHA (P < 0.05), IL-2 (P < 0.001), AND IL-4 (P < 0.01)]. REDUCED T CELL CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR GENE EXPRESSION IN MS F1 MICE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED CHEMOTAXIS IN VITRO TO C-C CHEMOKINE LIGAND (CCL) 2 AND C-X-C CHEMOKINE LIGAND 10 (P < 0.01) AND IN VIVO TO CCL2 (P < 0.01). TAKEN TOGETHER, THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT EPIGENETIC ALTERATION THROUGH PRENATAL DIET MANIPULATION REDUCES THE RESPONSE TO PROINFLAMMATORY SIGNALS IN MICE. 2012 6 1800 25 EFFECT OF HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR ON ETHANOL WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA IN RATS. BACKGROUND: INCREASED PAIN SENSITIVITY IS OBSERVED FOLLOWING ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL, AND ATTEMPTS TO ALLEVIATE THIS HYPERALGESIA CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE CYCLE OF ADDICTION. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE IF ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA WAS OBSERVED IN A CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE MODEL AND IF THIS PAIN WAS AFFECTED BY HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS, THUS REVEALING AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM. METHODS: ADULT MALE SPRAGUE DAWLEY RATS RECEIVED LIEBER-DECARLI LIQUID CONTROL OR ETHANOL (9% V/V) DIET FOR 15 DAYS. MECHANICAL SENSITIVITY WAS MEASURED WITH VON FREY HAIR STIMULATION OF THE HINDPAW DURING ETHANOL ADMINISTRATION AND 24- AND 72-HOUR WITHDRAWAL. RESULTS: ETHANOL WITHDRAWAL PRODUCED SEVERE AND SUSTAINED MECHANICAL HYPERALGESIA, AN EFFECT NOT OBSERVED IN THE CONTROL OR ETHANOL-MAINTAINED GROUPS. FURTHERMORE, THIS HYPERALGESIA WAS ATTENUATED BY THE HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR, SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID TREATMENT. CONCLUSIONS: HEIGHTENED PAIN SENSITIVITY WAS OBSERVED FOLLOWING WITHDRAWAL FROM CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE, AND HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS COULD BE NOVEL TREATMENTS FOR THIS ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA. 2019 7 286 37 AGING AND ALCOHOL INTERACT TO ALTER HEPATIC DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION. BACKGROUND: AGING AND CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ARE BOTH MODIFIERS OF DNA METHYLATION, BUT IT IS NOT YET KNOWN WHETHER CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ALSO ALTERS DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION, A NEWLY DISCOVERED EPIGENETIC MARK PRODUCED BY OXIDATION OF METHYLCYTOSINE. FURTHERMORE, IT HAS NOT BEEN TESTED WHETHER AGING AND ALCOHOL INTERACT TO MODIFY THIS EPIGENETIC PHENOMENON, THEREBY HAVING AN INDEPENDENT EFFECT ON GENE EXPRESSION. METHODS: OLD (18 MONTHS) AND YOUNG (4 MONTHS) MALE C57BL/6 MICE WERE PAIR-FED EITHER A LIEBER-DECARLI LIQUID DIET WITH ALCOHOL (18% OF ENERGY) OR AN ISOCALORIC LIEBER-DECARLI CONTROL DIET FOR 5 WEEKS. GLOBAL DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION AND DNA METHYLATION WERE ANALYZED FROM HEPATIC DNA USING A NEW LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY METHOD. HEPATIC MRNA EXPRESSION OF THE TET ENZYMES WERE MEASURED VIA QUANTITATIVE REAL-TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION. RESULTS: IN YOUNG MICE, MILD CHRONIC ALCOHOL EXPOSURE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED GLOBAL DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION COMPARED WITH CONTROL MICE (0.22 +/- 0.01 VS. 0.29 +/- 0.06%, P = 0.004). ALCOHOL DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY ALTER HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE LEVELS IN OLD MICE. OLD MICE FED THE CONTROL DIET SHOWED DECREASED GLOBAL DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION COMPARED WITH YOUNG MICE FED THE CONTROL DIET (0.24 +/- 0.02 VS. 0.29 +/- 0.06%, P = 0.04). THIS MODEL SUGGESTS AN INTERACTION BETWEEN AGING AND ALCOHOL IN DETERMINING DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION (PINTERACTION = 0.009). EXPRESSION OF TET2 AND TET3 WAS DECREASED IN THE OLD MICE RELATIVE TO THE YOUNG (P < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: THE OBSERVATION THAT ALCOHOL ALTERS DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION INDICATES A NEW EPIGENETIC EFFECT OF ALCOHOL. THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY DEMONSTRATING THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND AGING ON DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION. 2014 8 312 36 ALCOHOL FEEDING IN MICE PROMOTES COLONIC HYPERPERMEABILITY AND CHANGES IN COLONIC ORGANOID STEM CELL FATE. BACKGROUND: ALCOHOL INCREASES INTESTINAL PERMEABILITY TO PROINFLAMMATORY MICROBIAL PRODUCTS THAT PROMOTE LIVER DISEASE, EVEN AFTER A PERIOD OF SOBRIETY. WE SOUGHT TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT ALCOHOL AFFECTS INTESTINAL STEM CELLS USING AN IN VIVO MODEL AND EX VIVO ORGANOIDS GENERATED FROM JEJUNUM AND COLON FROM MICE FED CHRONIC ALCOHOL. METHODS: MICE WERE FED A CONTROL OR AN ALCOHOL DIET. INTESTINAL PERMEABILITY, LIVER STEATOSIS-INFLAMMATION, AND STOOL SHORT-CHAIN FATTY ACIDS (SCFAS) WERE MEASURED. JEJUNUM AND COLONIC ORGANOIDS AND TISSUE WERE STAINED FOR STEM CELL, CELL LINEAGE, AND APICAL JUNCTION MARKERS WITH ASSESSMENT OF MRNA BY PCR AND RNA-SEQ. CHIP-PCR ANALYSIS WAS CARRIED OUT FOR NOTCH1 USING AN ANTIBODY SPECIFIC FOR ACETYLATED HISTONE 3. RESULTS: ALCOHOL-FED MICE EXHIBITED COLONIC (BUT NOT SMALL INTESTINAL) HYPERPERMEABILITY, STEATOHEPATITIS, AND DECREASED BUTYRATE/TOTAL SCFA RATIO IN STOOL. STEM CELL, CELL LINEAGE, AND APICAL JUNCTION MARKER STAINING IN TISSUE OR ORGANOIDS FROM JEJUNUM TISSUE WERE NOT IMPACTED BY ALCOHOL. ONLY CHROMOGRANIN A (CHGA) WAS INCREASED IN JEJUNUM ORGANOIDS BY QPCR. HOWEVER, COLONIC TISSUE AND ORGANOID STAINING EXHIBITED AN ALCOHOL-INDUCED SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN CYTOKERATIN 20+ (KRT20+) ABSORPTIVE LINEAGE ENTEROCYTES, A DECREASE IN OCCLUDIN AND E-CADHERIN APICAL JUNCTION PROTEINS, AN INCREASE IN CHGA, AND AN INCREASE IN THE LGR5 STEM CELL MARKER. QPCR REVEALED AN ALCOHOL-INDUCED DECREASE IN COLONIC ORGANOID AND TISSUE NOTCH1, HES1, AND KRT20 AND INCREASED CHGA, SUPPORTING AN ALTERATION IN STEM CELL FATE DUE TO DECREASED NOTCH1 EXPRESSION. COLONIC TISSUE CHIP-PCR REVEALED ALCOHOL FEEDING SUPPRESSED NOTCH1 MRNA EXPRESSION (VIA DEACETYLATION OF HISTONE H3) AND DECREASED NOTCH1 TISSUE STAINING. CONCLUSIONS: DATA SUPPORT A MODEL FOR ALCOHOL-INDUCED COLONIC HYPERPERMEABILITY VIA EPIGENETIC EFFECTS ON NOTCH1, AND THUS HES1, SUPPRESSION THROUGH A MECHANISM INVOLVING HISTONE H3 DEACETYLATION AT THE NOTCH1 LOCUS. THIS DECREASED ENTEROCYTE AND INCREASED ENTEROENDOCRINE CELL COLONIC STEM CELL FATE AND DECREASED APICAL JUNCTIONAL PROTEINS LEADING TO HYPERPERMEABILITY. 2017 9 2365 38 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF SPINAL CXCR2 SIGNALING IN INCISIONAL HYPERSENSITIVITY IN MICE. BACKGROUND: THE REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION IN NOCICEPTIVE PATHWAYS CONTRIBUTES TO THE INDUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF PAIN SENSITIZATION. HISTONE ACETYLATION IS A KEY EPIGENETIC MECHANISM CONTROLLING CHROMATIN STRUCTURE AND GENE EXPRESSION. CHEMOKINE CC MOTIF RECEPTOR 2 (CXCR2) IS A PROINFLAMMATORY RECEPTOR IMPLICATED IN NEUROPATHIC AND INFLAMMATORY PAIN AND IS KNOWN TO BE REGULATED BY HISTONE ACETYLATION IN SOME SETTINGS. THE AUTHORS SOUGHT TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF HISTONE ACETYLATION ON SPINAL CXCR2 SIGNALING AFTER INCISION. METHODS: GROUPS OF 5-8 MICE UNDERWENT HIND PAW INCISION. SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID AND ANACARDIC ACID WERE USED TO INHIBIT HISTONE DEACETYLASE AND HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE, RESPECTIVELY. BEHAVIORAL MEASURES OF THERMAL AND MECHANICAL SENSITIZATION AS WELL AS HYPERALGESIC PRIMING WERE USED. BOTH MESSAGE RNA QUANTIFICATION AND CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ANALYSIS WERE USED TO STUDY THE REGULATION OF CXCR2 AND LIGAND EXPRESSION. FINALLY, THE SELECTIVE CXCR2 ANTAGONIST SB225002 WAS ADMINISTERED INTRATHECALLY TO REVEAL THE FUNCTION OF SPINAL CXCR2 RECEPTORS AFTER HIND PAW INCISION. RESULTS: SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID SIGNIFICANTLY EXACERBATED MECHANICAL SENSITIZATION AFTER INCISION. CONVERSELY, ANACARDIC ACID REDUCED INCISIONAL SENSITIZATION AND ALSO ATTENUATED INCISION-INDUCED HYPERALGESIC PRIMING. OVERALL, ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 AT LYSINE 9 WAS INCREASED IN SPINAL CORD TISSUES AFTER INCISION, AND ENHANCED ASSOCIATION OF ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 AT LYSINE 9 WITH THE PROMOTER REGIONS OF CXCR2 AND KERATINOCYTE-DERIVED CHEMOKINE (CXCL1) WAS OBSERVED AS WELL. BLOCKING CXCR2 REVERSED MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AFTER HIND PAW INCISION. CONCLUSIONS: HISTONE MODIFICATION IS AN IMPORTANT EPIGENETIC MECHANISM REGULATING INCISION-INDUCED NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION. THE SPINAL CXCR2 SIGNALING PATHWAY IS ONE EPIGENETICALLY REGULATED PATHWAY CONTROLLING EARLY AND LATENT SENSITIZATION AFTER INCISION. 2013 10 910 35 CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ETHANOL OF MALE MICE BEFORE MATING PRODUCES ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER-LIKE PHENOTYPE ALONG WITH EPIGENETIC DYSREGULATION OF DOPAMINE TRANSPORTER EXPRESSION IN MOUSE OFFSPRING. PRECONCEPTION EXPOSURE TO ETOH THROUGH THE PATERNAL ROUTE MAY AFFECT NEUROBEHAVIORAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL FEATURES OF OFFSPRING. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES THE EFFECTS OF PATERNAL EXPOSURE TO ETOH BEFORE CONCEPTION ON THE HYPERACTIVITY, INATTENTION, AND IMPULSIVITY BEHAVIOR OF MALE OFFSPRING IN MICE. SIRE MICE WERE TREATED WITH ETOH IN A CONCENTRATION RANGE APPROXIMATING HUMAN BINGE DRINKING (0-4 G/KG/DAY ETOH) FOR 7 WEEKS AND MATED WITH UNTREATED FEMALES MICE TO PRODUCE OFFSPRING. ETOH EXPOSURE TO SIRE MICE INDUCED ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)-LIKE HYPERACTIVE, INATTENTIVE, AND IMPULSIVE BEHAVIORS IN OFFSPRING. AS A MECHANISTIC LINK, BOTH PROTEIN AND MRNA EXPRESSION OF DOPAMINE TRANSPORTER (DAT), A KEY DETERMINANT OF ADHD-LIKE PHENOTYPES IN EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS AND HUMANS, WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED BY PATERNAL ETOH EXPOSURE IN CEREBRAL CORTEX AND STRIATUM OF OFFSPRING MICE ALONG WITH INCREASED METHYLATION OF A CPG REGION OF THE DAT GENE PROMOTER. THE INCREASE IN METHYLATION OF DAT GENE PROMOTER WAS ALSO OBSERVED IN THE SPERM OF SIRE MICE, SUGGESTING GERMLINE CHANGES IN THE EPIGENETIC METHYLATION SIGNATURE OF DAT GENE BY ETOH EXPOSURE. IN ADDITION, THE EXPRESSION OF TWO KEY REGULATORS OF METHYLATION-DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF FUNCTIONAL GENE EXPRESSION, NAMELY, MECP2 AND DNMT1, WAS MARKEDLY DECREASED IN OFFSPRING CORTEX AND STRIATUM SIRED BY ETOH-EXPOSED MICE. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PRECONCEPTIONAL EXPOSURE TO ETOH THROUGH THE PATERNAL ROUTE INDUCES BEHAVIORAL CHANGES IN OFFSPRING, POSSIBLY VIA EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE REGULATION OF ADHD-LIKE BEHAVIORS. 2014 11 3331 32 HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR SUBERANILOHYDROXAMIC ACID TREATMENT REVERSES HYPOSENSITIVITY TO GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID IN THE VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA DURING ETHANOL WITHDRAWAL. BACKGROUND: THE VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA (VTA) IS IMPORTANT FOR ALCOHOL-RELATED REWARD AND REINFORCEMENT. MOUSE VTA NEURONS ARE HYPOSENSITIVE TO GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID (GABA) DURING ETHANOL (ETOH) WITHDRAWAL, AND GABA RESPONSIVENESS IS NORMALIZED BY IN VITRO TREATMENT WITH HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS (HDACI). THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECT OF A SYSTEMICALLY ADMINISTERED HDACI, SUBERANILOHYDROXAMIC ACID (SAHA) ON GABA SENSITIVITY, AND RELATED MOLECULAR CHANGES IN VTA NEURONS DURING WITHDRAWAL AFTER CHRONIC ETOH INTAKE IN RATS. METHODS: SPRAGUE DAWLEY MALE ADULT RATS WERE FED WITH LIEBER-DECARLI DIET (9% ETOH OR CONTROL DIET) FOR 16 DAYS. EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS INCLUDED CONTROL DIET-FED AND ETOH DIET-FED (0- OR 24-HOUR WITHDRAWAL) RATS TREATED WITH EITHER SAHA OR VEHICLE INJECTION. SINGLE-UNIT RECORDINGS WERE USED TO MEASURE THE RESPONSE OF VTA NEURONS TO GABA. IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY WAS PERFORMED TO EXAMINE LEVELS OF HDAC2, ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 LYSINE 9 (ACH3K9), AND GABA(A) RECEPTOR ALPHA1 AND ALPHA5 SUBUNITS IN THE VTA; QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION WAS PERFORMED TO EXAMINE THE MRNA LEVELS OF HDAC2 AND GABA(A) RECEPTOR SUBUNITS. RESULTS: VTA NEURONS FROM THE WITHDRAWAL GROUP EXHIBITED GABA HYPOSENSITIVITY. IN VIVO SAHA TREATMENT 2 HOURS BEFORE SACRIFICE NORMALIZED THE SENSITIVITY OF VTA NEURONS TO GABA. ETOH WITHDRAWAL WAS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED HDAC2 AND DECREASED ACH3K9 PROTEIN LEVELS; SAHA TREATMENT NORMALIZED ACH3K9 LEVELS. INTERESTINGLY, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE WAS OBSERVED IN THE MRNA LEVELS OF HDAC2. THE MRNA LEVELS, BUT NOT PROTEIN LEVELS, OF GABA(A) RECEPTOR ALPHA1 AND ALPHA5 SUBUNITS WERE INCREASED DURING WITHDRAWAL. CONCLUSIONS: WITHDRAWAL FROM CHRONIC ETOH EXPOSURE RESULTS IN A DECREASE IN GABA-MEDIATED INHIBITION, AND THIS GABA HYPOSENSITIVITY IS NORMALIZED BY IN VIVO SAHA TREATMENT. DISRUPTION OF SIGNALING IN THE VTA PRODUCED BY ALTERATION OF GABA NEUROTRANSMISSION COULD BE 1 NEUROADAPTIVE PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS LEADING TO CRAVING AND RELAPSE. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT HDACI PHARMACOTHERAPY WITH AGENTS LIKE SAHA MIGHT BE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR ALCOHOLISM. 2018 12 4943 29 PATERNAL PRECONCEPTION ALCOHOL EXPOSURE IMPARTS INTERGENERATIONAL ALCOHOL-RELATED BEHAVIORS TO MALE OFFSPRING ON A PURE C57BL/6J BACKGROUND. WHILE ALCOHOL USE DISORDER (AUD) IS A HIGHLY HERITABLE CONDITION, THE BASIS OF AUD IN FAMILIES WITH A HISTORY OF ALCOHOLISM IS DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN BY GENETIC VARIATION ALONE. EMERGING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT PARENTAL EXPERIENCE PRIOR TO CONCEPTION CAN AFFECT INHERITANCE OF COMPLEX BEHAVIORS IN OFFSPRING VIA NON-GENOMIC (EPIGENETIC) MECHANISMS. FOR INSTANCE, MALE C57BL/6J (B6) MICE EXPOSED TO CHRONIC INTERMITTENT VAPOR ETHANOL (CIE) PRIOR TO MATING WITH STRAIN 129S1/SVIMJ ETHANOL-NAIVE FEMALES PRODUCE MALE OFFSPRING WITH REDUCED ETHANOL-DRINKING PREFERENCE, INCREASED ETHANOL SENSITIVITY, AND INCREASED BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) EXPRESSION IN THE VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA (VTA). IN THE PRESENT STUDY, WE TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THESE INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF PATERNAL CIE ARE REPRODUCIBLE IN MALE OFFSPRING ON AN INBRED B6 BACKGROUND. TO THIS END, B6 MALES WERE EXPOSED TO 6 WEEKS OF CIE (OR ROOM AIR AS A CONTROL) BEFORE MATING WITH ETHANOL-NAIVE B6 FEMALES TO PRODUCE ETHANOL (E)-SIRED AND CONTROL (C)-SIRED MALE AND FEMALE OFFSPRING. WE OBSERVED A SEX-SPECIFIC EFFECT, AS E-SIRED MALES EXHIBITED DECREASED TWO-BOTTLE FREE-CHOICE ETHANOL-DRINKING PREFERENCE, INCREASED SENSITIVITY TO THE ANXIOLYTIC EFFECTS OF ETHANOL, AND INCREASED VTA BDNF EXPRESSION; NO DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN FEMALE OFFSPRING. THESE FINDINGS CONFIRM AND EXTEND OUR PREVIOUS RESULTS BY DEMONSTRATING THAT THE EFFECTS OF PATERNAL PRECONCEPTION ETHANOL ARE REPRODUCIBLE USING GENETICALLY IDENTICAL, INBRED B6 ANIMALS. 2017 13 6388 34 THE ROLE OF SIRT1 IN THE BASOLATERAL AMYGDALA IN DEPRESSION-LIKE BEHAVIORS IN MICE. PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS HAVE IMPLICATED THE BASOLATERAL AMYGDALA (BLA) EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF DEPRESSION. SIRT1 IS A NAD+-DEPENDENT CLASS III HISTONE DEACETYLASE, WIDELY EXPRESSES IN BLA. HOWEVER, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN THE BLA UNDER THE REGULATION OF SIRT1 IN THE DEPRESSION ARE LARGELY UNCHARACTERIZED. UNDER THE CHRONIC UNPREDICTABLE CHRONIC MILD STRESS (CUMS) MOUSE MODEL, WE USED ADENO-ASSOCIATED VIRAL VECTORS (AAV) THAT ENCODED SIRT1-SHRNA OR SIRT1 TO SPECIFICALLY KNOCKDOWN OR OVEREXPRESS SIRT1 IN BLA NEURONS, RESPECTIVELY. CUMS PROCEDURE INDUCED SIGNIFICANT DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS INCLUDING THE DECREASED SUCROSE PREFERENCE, THE LESS BODYWEIGHT GAINED, THE DECREASED IMMOBILE LATENCY AND THE INCREASED IMMOBILE TIME BOTH IN FORCED SWIM TEST (FST) AND TAIL SUSPENSION TEST (TST). KNOCKDOWN OF SIRT1 IN BLA GLUTAMATERGIC NEURONS REVERSED THESE DEPRESSION-LIKE BEHAVIORS AND RESTORED THE SYNAPTIC ABNORMALITIES. OVEREXPRESSION OF SIRT1 IN BLA GLUTAMATERGIC NEURONS INDUCED DEPRESSION-LIKE BEHAVIORS IN NON-STRESSED CONTROL MICE. THE RESULT OF PROTEIN EXPRESSIONS AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL CHANGES WERE CONSISTENT WITH THE BEHAVIORAL RESULTS. OUR STUDY SUGGESTED THAT DOWNREGULATION OF SIRT1 IN BLA HAS CERTAIN BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON CUMS-INDUCED DEPRESSION-LIKE BEHAVIORS SUCH AS ANOREXIA, ANHEDONIA, HOPELESSNESS AND DESPAIR. IN ADDITION, THE INCREASED EXPRESSION OF SIRT1 MAY BE THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE OF DEPRESSIVE-LIKE SYMPTOMS. THE ABNORMAL EXPRESSION OF SIRT1 MAY AFFECT THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION MECHANISM AND SIGNALING PROTEIN ACETYLATION, AFFECTING NEUROPLASTICITY AND ULTIMATELY CONTRIBUTE TO MDD. IN THE STRESS-SUSCEPTIBLE MICE, THESE TWO MECHANISMS MAY CO-EXIST, BUT THE SPECIFIC MECHANISM NEEDS FURTHER RESEARCH. 2021 14 894 34 CHRONIC ETHANOL FEEDING ALTERS HEPATOCYTE MEMORY WHICH IS NOT ALTERED BY ACUTE FEEDING. BACKGROUND: GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES IN THE LIVER AFTER ACUTE BINGE DRINKING MAY DIFFER FROM THE CHANGES SEEN IN CHRONIC ETHANOL FEEDING IN THE RAT. THE CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION AFTER CHRONIC ETHANOL FEEDING MAY SENSITIZE THE LIVER TO ALCOHOL-INDUCED LIVER DAMAGE, WHICH IS NOT SEEN AFTER ACUTE BINGE DRINKING. METHODS: TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, GENE MICROARRAY ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED ON THE LIVERS OF RATS (N = 3) FED AN ACUTE BINGE DOSE OF ETHANOL (6 G/KG BODY WT) AND KILLED AT 3 AND 12 HOURS AFTER ETHANOL BY GAVAGE. THE GENE MICROARRAYS WERE COMPARED WITH THOSE MADE ON THE LIVER OF RATS FROM A PREVIOUS STUDY, IN WHICH THE RATS WERE FED ETHANOL BY INTRAGASTRIC TUBE FOR 1 MONTH (36% OF CALORIES DERIVED FROM ETHANOL). RESULTS: MICROARRAY ANALYSIS DATA VARIED BETWEEN THE ACUTE AND CHRONIC MODELS IN SEVERAL IMPORTANT RESPECTS. GROWTH FACTORS INCREASED MAINLY IN THE CHRONIC ALCOHOL FED RAT. CHANGES IN ENZYMES INVOLVED IN OXIDATIVE STRESS WERE NOTED ONLY WITH CHRONIC ETHANOL FEEDING. GENE EXPRESSION OF FAT METABOLISM WAS INCREASED ONLY WITH CHRONIC ETHANOL FEEDING. MOST IMPORTANTLY, EPIGENETIC RELATED ENZYMES AND ACETYLATION AND METHYLATION OF HISTONES CHANGED ONLY AFTER CHRONIC ETHANOL FEEDING. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SUPPORT THE CONCEPT THAT CHRONIC ETHANOL INGESTION INDUCES ALTERED GENE EXPRESSION AS A RESULT OF CHANGES IN EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, WHERE ACETYLATION AND METHYLATION OF HISTONES WERE ALTERED. 2009 15 6019 32 THE ASSOCIATION OF HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION AND CRAVING IN HAN CHINESE ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY. BACKGROUND: 5-HYDROXYTRYPTAMINE (5-HT) 3 RECEPTOR PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN CRAVING OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE. RECENT EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT CHRONIC ALCOHOL EXPOSURE CAUSES CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION AND INDUCES BEHAVIORAL CHANGES. HOWEVER, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENE EXPRESSION OF 5-HT3 RECEPTOR AND CRAVING IN ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS IS NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. OBJECTIVES: THE AIM OF THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENE EXPRESSION OF THE 5-HT3 RECEPTOR AND CRAVING IN ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS AND THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISM. METHODS: WE RECRUITED 50 MALE HAN CHINESE ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS AND 46 MALE HAN CHINESE HEALTHY CONTROLS. WE INVESTIGATED THE CHANGES OF HTR3A MRNA, WHICH ENCODES THE 5-HT3 RECEPTOR A SUBUNIT, AND H3K9 ACETYLATION IN HTR3A PROMOTER REGION. OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DRINKING SCALE (OCDS) WAS USED TO ASSESS THE CRAVING OF ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS RELATIVE TO CONTROLS. RESULTS: HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION LEVELS AND ACETYLATION LEVELS OF H3K9 IN THE HTR3A PROMOTER REGION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN THE ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS. HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH OCDS SCORES. MOREOVER, HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH ACETYLATION LEVELS OF H3K9 IN HTR3A PROMOTER REGION. CONCLUSION: THE CURRENT FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH CRAVING IN HAN CHINESE ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS. THE REGULATION OF H3K9 HISTONE ACETYLATION IN HTR3A PROMOTER REGION MAY OFFER A TARGET FOR THE TREATMENT OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE. 2016 16 5651 24 SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF CHRONIC VISCERAL PAIN FOLLOWING UNPREDICTABLE EARLY LIFE STRESS. BACKGROUND: WE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED THAT EARLY LIFE STRESS (ELS) DYSREGULATED GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (GR) AND CORTICOTROPHIN-RELEASING HORMONE (CRH) EXPRESSION IN THE CENTRAL NUCLEUS OF THE AMYGDALA (CEA). EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS SERVE AS MEMORIES OF ADVERSE EVENTS THAT OCCURRED DURING EARLY LIFE. THEREFORE, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ALTER GR AND CRH EXPRESSION IN THE CEA AND UNDERLIE CHRONIC VISCERAL PAIN AFTER ELS. METHODS: NEONATAL RATS WERE EXPOSED TO UNPREDICTABLE, PREDICTABLE ELS, OR ODOR ONLY (NO STRESS CONTROL) FROM POSTNATAL DAYS 8 TO 12. IN ADULTHOOD, VISCERAL SENSITIVITY WAS ASSESSED OR THE CEA WAS ISOLATED FOR WESTERN BLOT OR CHIP-QPCR TO STUDY HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AT THE GR AND CRH PROMOTERS. FEMALE ADULT RATS UNDERWENT STEREOTAXIC IMPLANTATION OF INDWELLING CANNULAS FOR MICROINJECTIONS OF GARCINOL (HAT INHIBITOR) INTO THE CEA. AFTER 7 DAYS OF MICROINJECTIONS, VISCERAL SENSITIVITY WAS ASSESSED OR THE CEA WAS ISOLATED FOR CHIP-QPCR ASSAYS. RESULTS: UNPREDICTABLE ELS INCREASED VISCERAL SENSITIVITY IN ADULT FEMALE RATS, BUT NOT IN MALE COUNTERPARTS. ELS INCREASED HISTONE 3 LYSINE 9 (H3K9) ACETYLATION IN THE CEA AND H3K9 ACETYLATION LEVELS AT THE GR PROMOTER IN THE CEA OF ADULT FEMALE RATS. AFTER UNPREDICTABLE ELS, H3K9 ACETYLATION WAS INCREASED AND GR BINDING WAS DECREASED AT THE CRH PROMOTER. ADMINISTRATION OF GARCINOL IN THE CEA OF ADULT FEMALES, THAT UNDERWENT UNPREDICTABLE ELS, NORMALIZED H3K9 ACETYLATION AND RESTORED GR BINDING AT THE CRH PROMOTER. CONCLUSION: DYSREGULATED HISTONE ACETYLATION AND GR BINDING AT THE CRH PROMOTER IN THE CEA ARE AN IMPORTANT MECHANISM FOR "MEMORIZING" ELS EVENTS MEDIATING VISCERAL PAIN IN ADULTHOOD. 2020 17 2363 33 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF SPINAL CORD GENE EXPRESSION CONTRIBUTES TO ENHANCED POSTOPERATIVE PAIN AND ANALGESIC TOLERANCE SUBSEQUENT TO CONTINUOUS OPIOID EXPOSURE. BACKGROUND: OPIOIDS HAVE BECOME THE MAINSTAY FOR TREATMENT OF MODERATE TO SEVERE PAIN AND ARE COMMONLY USED TO TREAT SURGICAL PAIN. WHILE OPIOID ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN SHOWN TO CAUSE OPIOID-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA AND TOLERANCE, INTERACTIONS BETWEEN OPIOID ADMINISTRATION AND SURGERY WITH RESPECT TO THESE PROBLEMATIC ADAPTATIONS HAVE SCARCELY BEEN ADDRESSED. ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS OPIOIDS AND NOCICEPTIVE SIGNALING MAY CONVERGE ON EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN SPINAL CORD TO ENHANCE OR PROLONG NEUROPLASTIC CHANGES. EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF BDNF (BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR) AND PDYN (PRODYNORPHIN) GENES MAY BE INVOLVED. RESULTS: FOUR DAYS OF ASCENDING DOSES OF MORPHINE TREATMENT CAUSED OPIOID-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA AND REDUCED OPIOID ANALGESIC EFFICACY IN MICE. BOTH OPIOID-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA AND THE REDUCED OPIOID ANALGESIC EFFICACY WERE ENHANCED IN MICE THAT RECEIVED HINDPAW INCISIONS. THE EXPRESSION OF BDNF AND PDYN (QPCR) WAS INCREASED AFTER MORPHINE TREATMENT AND INCISION. CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ASSAYS DEMONSTRATED THAT THE PDYN AND BDNF PROMOTERS WERE MORE STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH ACETYLATED H3K9 AFTER MORPHINE PLUS INCISION THAN IN THE MORPHINE OR INCISION ALONE GROUPS. SELECTIVE TROPOMYOSIN-RELATED KINASE B (ANA-12) AND KAPPA-OPIOID RECEPTOR (NOR-BINALTORPHIMINE) ANTAGONISTS WERE ADMINISTERED INTRATHECALLY, BOTH REDUCED HYPERALGESIA ONE OR THREE DAYS AFTER SURGERY. ADMINISTRATION OF ANA-12 OR NOR-BINALTORPHIMINE ATTENUATED THE DECREASED MORPHINE ANALGESIC EFFICACY ON DAY 1, BUT ONLY NOR-BINALTORPHIMINE WAS EFFECTIVE ON DAY 3 AFTER INCISION IN OPIOID-EXPOSED GROUP. COADMINISTRATION OF HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR ANACARDIC ACID DAILY WITH MORPHINE BLOCKED THE DEVELOPMENT OF OPIOID-INDUCED HYPERALGESIA AND ATTENUATED INCISION-ENHANCED HYPERALGESIA IN MORPHINE-TREATED MICE. ANACARDIC ACID HAD SIMILAR EFFECTS ON ANALGESIC TOLERANCE, SHOWING THE INVOLVEMENT OF HISTONE ACETYLATION IN THE INTERACTIONS DETECTED. CONCLUSIONS: SPINAL EPIGENETIC CHANGES INVOLVING BDNF AND PDYN MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ENHANCED POSTOPERATIVE NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION AND ANALGESIC TOLERANCE OBSERVED AFTER CONTINUOUS OPIOID EXPOSURE. TREATMENTS BLOCKING THE EPIGENETICALLY MEDIATED UP-REGULATION OF THESE GENES OR ADMINISTRATION OF TRKB OR KAPPA-OPIOID RECEPTOR ANTAGONISTS MAY IMPROVE THE CLINICAL UTILITY OF OPIOIDS, PARTICULARLY AFTER SURGERY. 2016 18 6540 37 TRANSCRIPTIONAL, EPIGENETIC, AND FUNCTIONAL REPROGRAMMING OF MONOCYTES FROM NON-HUMAN PRIMATES FOLLOWING CHRONIC ALCOHOL DRINKING. CHRONIC HEAVY DRINKING (CHD) OF ALCOHOL IS A KNOWN RISK FACTOR FOR INCREASED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO BACTERIAL AND VIRAL INFECTION AS WELL AS IMPAIRED WOUND HEALING. EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THESE DEFECTS ARE MEDIATED BY A DYSREGULATED INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE ORIGINATING FROM MYELOID CELLS, NOTABLY MONOCYTES AND MACROPHAGES, BUT THE MECHANISMS REMAIN POORLY UNDERSTOOD. OUR ABILITY TO STUDY CHD IS IMPACTED BY THE COMPLEXITIES OF HUMAN DRINKING PATTERNS AND BEHAVIOR AS WELL AS COMORBIDITIES AND CONFOUNDING RISK FACTORS FOR PATIENTS WITH ALCOHOL USE DISORDERS. TO OVERCOME THESE CHALLENGES, WE UTILIZED A TRANSLATIONAL RHESUS MACAQUE MODEL OF VOLUNTARY ETHANOL SELF-ADMINISTRATION THAT CLOSELY RECAPITULATES HUMAN DRINKING PATTERNS AND CHRONICITY. IN THIS STUDY, WE EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF CHD ON BLOOD MONOCYTES IN CONTROL AND CHD FEMALE MACAQUES AFTER 12 MONTHS OF DAILY ETHANOL CONSUMPTION. WHILE MONOCYTES FROM CHD FEMALE MACAQUES GENERATED A HYPER-INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE TO EX VIVO LPS STIMULATION, THEIR RESPONSE TO E. COLI WAS DAMPENED. IN DEPTH SCRNA-SEQ ANALYSIS OF PURIFIED MONOCYTES REVEALED SIGNIFICANT SHIFTS IN CLASSICAL MONOCYTE SUBSETS WITH ACCUMULATION OF CELLS EXPRESSING MARKERS OF HYPOXIA (HIF1A) AND INFLAMMATION (NFKB SIGNALING PATHWAY) IN CHD MACAQUES. THE INCREASED PRESENCE OF MONOCYTE SUBSETS SKEWED TOWARDS INFLAMMATORY PHENOTYPES WAS COMPLEMENTED BY EPIGENETIC ANALYSIS, WHICH REVEALED HIGHER ACCESSIBILITY OF PROMOTER REGIONS THAT REGULATE GENES INVOLVED IN CYTOKINE SIGNALING PATHWAYS. COLLECTIVELY, DATA PRESENTED IN THIS MANUSCRIPT DEMONSTRATE THAT CHD SHIFTS CLASSICAL MONOCYTE SUBSET COMPOSITION AND PRIMES THE MONOCYTES TOWARDS A MORE HYPER-INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE TO LPS, BUT COMPROMISED PATHOGEN RESPONSE. 2021 19 4161 35 MECP2 REGULATES ETHANOL SENSITIVITY AND INTAKE. WE HAVE INVESTIGATED THE EXPRESSION OF CHROMATIN-REGULATING GENES IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND IN THE SHELL SUBDIVISION OF THE NUCLEUS ACCUMBENS DURING PROTRACTED WITHDRAWAL IN MICE WITH INCREASED ETHANOL DRINKING AFTER CHRONIC INTERMITTENT ETHANOL (CIE) VAPOR EXPOSURE AND IN MICE WITH A HISTORY OF NON-DEPENDENT DRINKING. WE OBSERVED THAT THE METHYL-CPG BINDING PROTEIN 2 (MECP2) WAS ONE OF THE FEW CHROMATIN-REGULATING GENES TO BE DIFFERENTIALLY REGULATED BY A HISTORY OF DEPENDENCE. AS MECP2 HAS THE POTENTIAL OF ACTING AS A BROAD GENE REGULATOR, WE INVESTIGATED SENSITIVITY TO ETHANOL AND ETHANOL DRINKING IN MECP2(308/) (Y) MICE, WHICH HARBOR A TRUNCATED MECP2 ALLELE BUT HAVE A MILDER PHENOTYPE THAN MECP2 NULL MICE. WE OBSERVED THAT MECP2(308/) (Y) MICE WERE MORE SENSITIVE TO ETHANOL'S STIMULATORY AND SEDATIVE EFFECTS THAN WILD-TYPE (WT) MICE, DRANK LESS ETHANOL IN A LIMITED ACCESS 2 BOTTLE CHOICE PARADIGM AND DID NOT SHOW INCREASED DRINKING AFTER INDUCTION OF DEPENDENCE WITH EXPOSURE TO CIE VAPORS. ALCOHOL METABOLISM DID NOT DIFFER IN MECP2(308/) (Y) AND WT MICE. ADDITIONALLY, MECP2(308/) (Y) MICE DID NOT DIFFER FROM WT MICE IN ETHANOL PREFERENCE IN A 24-HOUR PARADIGM NOR IN THEIR INTAKE OF GRADED SOLUTIONS OF SACCHARIN OR QUININE, SUGGESTING THAT THE MECP2(308/) (Y) MUTATION DID NOT ALTER TASTE FUNCTION. LASTLY, USING THE GENE SET ENRICHMENT ANALYSIS ALGORITHM, WE FOUND A SIGNIFICANT OVERLAP IN THE GENES REGULATED BY ALCOHOL AND BY MECP2. TOGETHER, THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT MECP2 CONTRIBUTES TO THE REGULATION OF ETHANOL SENSITIVITY AND DRINKING. 2014 20 3321 33 HISTONE ACETYLATION OF THE HTR3A GENE IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX OF WISTAR RATS REGULATES ETHANOL-SEEKING BEHAVIOR. PREVIOUS REPORTS SHOWED THAT DECREASED HISTONE DEACETYLASE ACTIVITY SIGNIFICANTLY POTENTIATED THE REWARDING EFFECTS OF PSYCHOSTIMULANTS, AND THAT ENCODING OF THE 5-HT3 RECEPTOR BY THE HTR3A GENE WAS RELATED TO ETHANOL-SEEKING BEHAVIOR. HOWEVER, THE EFFECTS OF A HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR ON ETHANOL-SEEKING BEHAVIOR AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION AFTER CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE ARE NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. USING QUANTITATIVE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION-POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AND CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ANALYSIS, WE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE AND ITS INTERACTION WITH A HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR ON HISTONE-ACETYLATION-MEDIATED CHANGES IN HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION IN THE HTR3A PROMOTER REGION. THE CONDITIONED PLACE PREFERENCE PROCEDURE WAS USED TO EVALUATE ETHANOL-SEEKING BEHAVIOR. CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ETHANOL EFFECTIVELY ELICITED PLACE CONDITIONING. IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX, THE ACETYLATION OF H3K9 AND HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION IN THE HTR3A PROMOTER REGION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN THE ETHANOL GROUP THAN IN THE SALINE GROUP. THE HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR SODIUM BUTYRATE POTENTIATED THE EFFECTS OF ETHANOL ON HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION AND ENHANCED ETHANOL-INDUCED CONDITIONED PLACE PREFERENCES. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT ETHANOL UPREGULATES HTR3A LEVELS THROUGH MECHANISMS INVOLVING H3K9 ACETYLATION, AND THAT HISTONE ACETYLATION MAY BE A THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR TREATING ETHANOL ABUSE. 2012