Variation in the acute response to ethanol between individuals has a significant impact on determining susceptibility to alcoholism. The degree to which genetics contributes to this variation is of great interest. Here we show that allelic variation that alters the functional level of NPR-1, a neuropeptide Y (NPY) receptor-like protein, can account for natural variation in the acute response to ethanol in wild strains of Caenorhabditis elegans. NPR-1 negatively regulates the development of acute tolerance to ethanol, a neuroadaptive process that compensates for effects of ethanol. Furthermore, dynamic changes in the NPR-1 pathway provide a mechanism for ethanol tolerance in C. elegans. This suggests an explanation for the conserved function of NPY-related pathways in ethanol responses across diverse species. Moreover, these data indicate that genetic variation in the level of NPR-1 function determines much of the phenotypic variation in adaptive behavioral responses to ethanol that are observed in natural populations.

Background Ethanol is metabolized by a two-step process in which alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) oxidizes ethanol to acetaldehyde, which is further oxidized to acetate by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). Although variation in ethanol metabolism in humans strongly influences the propensity to chronically abuse alcohol, few data exist on the behavioral effects of altered ethanol metabolism. Here, we used the nematode C. elegans to directly examine how changes in ethanol metabolism alter behavioral responses to alcohol during an acute exposure. Additionally, we investigated ethanol solution osmolarity as a potential explanation for contrasting published data on C. elegans ethanol sensitivity. Methods We developed a gas chromatography assay and validated a spectrophotometric method to measure internal ethanol in ethanol-exposed worms. Further, we tested the effects of mutations in ADH and ALDH genes on ethanol tissue accumulation and behavioral sensitivity to the drug. Finally, we tested the effects of ethanol solution osmolarity on behavioral responses and tissue ethanol accumulation. Results Only a small amount of exogenously applied ethanol accumulated in the tissues of C. elegans and consequently their tissue concentrations were similar to those that intoxicate humans. Independent inactivation of an ADH-encoding gene (sodh-1) or an ALDH-encoding gene (alh-6 or alh-13) increased the ethanol concentration in worms and caused hypersensitivity to the acute sedative effects of ethanol on locomotion. We also found that the sensitivity to the depressive effects of ethanol on locomotion is strongly influenced by the osmolarity of the exogenous ethanol solution. Conclusions Our results indicate that ethanol metabolism via ADH and ALDH has a statistically discernable but surprisingly minor influence on ethanol sedation and internal ethanol accumulation in worms. In contrast, the osmolarity of the medium in which ethanol is delivered to the animals has a more substantial effect on the observed sensitivity to ethanol.

Identifying genes that influence behavioral responses to alcohol is critical for understanding the molecular basis of alcoholism and ultimately developing therapeutic interventions for the disease. Using an integrated approach that combined the power of the Drosophila, C. elegans and mouse model systems with bioinformatics analyses, we established a novel, conserved role for Chloride Intracellular Channels (CLICs) in alcohol-related behavior. CLIC proteins might have several biochemical functions including intracellular chloride channel activity, modulation of TGF-β signaling, and regulation of ryanodine receptors and A-kinase anchoring proteins. We initially identified vertebrate Clic4 as a candidate ethanol-responsive gene via bioinformatic analysis of data from published microarray studies of mouse and human ethanol-related genes. We confirmed that Clic4 expression was increased by ethanol treatment in mouse prefrontal cortex and also uncovered a correlation between basal expression of Clic4 in prefrontal cortex and the locomotor activating and sedating properties of ethanol across the BXD mouse genetic reference panel. Furthermore, we found that disruption of the sole Clic Drosophila orthologue significantly blunted sensitivity to alcohol in flies, that mutations in two C. elegans Clic orthologues, exc-4 and exl-1, altered behavioral responses to acute ethanol in worms, and that viral-mediated overexpression of Clic4 in mouse brain decreased the sedating properties of ethanol. Together, our studies demonstrate key roles for Clic genes in behavioral responses to acute alcohol in Drosophila, C. elegans and mice.

Background Ethanol induces similar behavioral responses in mammals and the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. By coupling assays for ethanol-related behavior to the genetic tools available in flies, a number of genes have been identified that influence physiological responses to ethanol. To enhance the utility of the Drosophila model for investigating genes involved in ethanol-related behavior, we explored the value of an assay that measures the sedative effects of ethanol on negative geotaxis, an evoked locomotor response. Methods We established eRING (ethanol Rapid Iterative Negative Geotaxis) as an assay for quantitating the sedative effects of ethanol on negative geotaxis (i.e. startle-induced climbing). We validated the assay by assessing acute sensitivity to ethanol and rapid ethanol tolerance in several different control strains and in flies with mutations known to disrupt these behaviors. We also used eRING in a candidate screen to identify mutants with altered ethanol-related behaviors. Results Negative geotaxis measured in eRING assays was dose-dependently impaired by ethanol exposure. Flies developed tolerance to the intoxicating effects of ethanol when tested during a second exposure. Ethanol sensitivity and rapid ethanol tolerance varied across four control strains, but internal ethanol concentrations were indistinguishable in the four strains during a first and second challenge with ethanol. Ethanol sensitivity and rapid ethanol tolerance, respectively, were altered in flies with mutations in amnesiac and hangover, genes known to influence these traits. Additionally, mutations in the β integrin gene myospheroid and the α integrin gene scab increased the initial sensitivity to ethanol and enhanced the development of rapid ethanol tolerance without altering internal ethanol concentrations. Conclusions The eRING assay is suitable for investigating genetic mechanisms that influence ethanol sensitivity and rapid ethanol tolerance. Ethanol sensitivity and rapid ethanol tolerance depend on the function of α and β integrins in flies.