Background Epigenetic mechanisms have been implicated in psychiatric disorders, including alcohol dependence. However, the epigenetic basis and role of specific histone deacetylase (HDAC) isoforms in the genetic predisposition to anxiety and alcoholism is unknown. Methods We measured amygdaloid HDAC activity, levels of HDAC isoforms and histone H3 acetylation in selectively-bred alcohol-preferring (P) and -nonpreferring (NP) rats. We employed HDAC2 siRNA infusion into the central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) of P rats to determine the causal role of HDAC2 in anxiety-like and alcohol-drinking behaviors. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis was performed to examine the histone acetylation status of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and activity-regulated cytoskeleton associated protein (Arc) genes. Golgi-Cox staining was performed to measure dendritic spine density. Results We found that P rats innately display higher nuclear HDAC activity and HDAC2, but not HDAC 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 protein levels, and lower acetylation of H3-K9, but not H3-K14, in the CeA and medial nucleus of amygdala (MeA) compared with NP rats. Acute ethanol exposure decreased amygdaloid HDAC activity and HDAC2 protein levels, increased global and gene (BDNF and Arc)-specific histone acetylation and attenuated anxiety-like behaviors in P rats, but had no effects in NP rats. HDAC2 knockdown in the CeA attenuated anxiety-like behaviors and voluntary alcohol, but not sucrose, consumption in P rats and increased histone acetylation of BDNF and Arc with a resultant increase in protein levels that correlated with increased dendritic spine density. Conclusions These novel data demonstrate the role of HDAC2-mediated epigenetic mechanisms in anxiety and alcoholism.
Innate anxiety appears to be a robust factor in the promotion of alcohol intake, possibly due to the anxiolytic effects of self-medication with alcohol. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its downstream target, activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated (Arc) protein, play a role in the regulation of synaptic function and structure. In order to examine the role of the BDNF-Arc system and associated dendritic spines in the anxiolytic effects of ethanol, we investigated the effects of acute ethanol exposure on anxiety-like behaviors of alcohol-preferring (P) andnonpreferring (NP) rats. We also examined changes in the expression of BDNF and Arc, and dendritic spine density (DSD), in amygdaloid brain regions of P and NP rats with or without ethanol exposure. It was found that in comparison to NP rats, P rats displayed innate anxiety-like behaviors, and had lower mRNA and protein levels of both BDNF and Arc, and also had lower DSD in the central amygdala (CeA) and medial amygdala (MeA), but not in the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Acute ethanol treatment had an anxiolytic effect in P, but not in NP rats, and was associated with an increase in mRNA and protein levels of BDNF and Arc, and in DSD in the CeA and MeA, but not BLA. These results suggest that innate deficits in BDNF-Arc levels, and DSD, in the CeA and MeA may be involved in the anxiety-like and excessive alcohol-drinking behaviors of P rats, as ethanol increased these amygdaloid synaptic markers and produced anxiolytic effects in P rats, but not NP rats.
Alcohol use and abuse appear to be related to neuroadaptive changes at functional, neurochemical, and structural levels. Acute and chronic ethanol exposure have been shown to modulate function of the activity-dependent gene transcription factor, cAMP-responsive element binding (CREB) protein in the brain, which may be associated with the development of alcoholism. Study of the downstream effectors of CREB have identified several important CREB-related genes, such as neuropeptide Y, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein, and corticotrophin-releasing factor, that may play a crucial role in the behavioral effects of ethanol and molecular changes in the specific neurocircuitry that underlie both alcohol addiction and a genetic predisposition to alcoholism. Brain chromatin remodeling due to histone covalent modifications may also be involved in mediating the behavioral effects and neuroadaptive changes that occur during ethanol exposure. This review outlines progressive neuroscience research into molecular and epigenetic mechanisms of alcoholism.
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