Identify genes that affect alcohol consumption

According to a recent study, a variation of a gene involved in neuronal communication in mice has a direct effect on alcohol consumption in rats. Researchers do not know whether a similar variant affecting alcohol consumption exists in humans.

The gene variant called Grm7 decodes a subordinate receptor that inhibits the production of glutamine and other neurotransmitters that neurons use to communicate with each other. The researchers identified the gene variant that caused the abundance of Grm7's messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in nerve cells. These mutated mice that drink more alcohol than mice have higher levels of Grm7 gene mRNA . The report of this research is published in the electronic edition of Press in Genomics .

Dr. Ting-Kai Li, director of the National Institute for Alcoholism (USA), said: 'This is a remarkable special contribution because the determination of genes that govern alcohol-induced behavior is a very difficult job. '

Scientists have long discovered that many genes are responsible for an important proportion of the risk of alcoholism. However, because so many genes interact with each other and many environmental factors influence the drinking behavior, it is difficult to study to determine each individual gene accurately.

Dr. Csaba Vadasz, lead author of the article, professor of psychiatry research at the Department of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine and chair of the neurological behavioral research program at Nathan Kline Institute in the city Orangeburg, New York state.

To overcome these difficulties, Dr. Vadasz and his colleagues applied genetic engineering techniques and similar analysis techniques to genetically similar animals that differed from each other. Prefer alcohol to determine the area of ​​the chromosome involved.

Dr Vadasz said: 'Our findings reinforce the emergence of an important role in the brain's glutamine pathway in alcoholism. Until now, the nerve impulse transducer pa min was thought to be the center of reaction in the use of neural chemicals. Recent studies show that glutamine plays a very important role in causing alcoholism . '

If further research demonstrates a similar variant associated with human alcoholism, the findings of Dr. Vadasz and his colleagues will create hope in the production of drugs for treatment. Alcoholism. Dr. Vadasz argues that the drug will be used to control the number of gene products of the Grm7 gene or regulate the activity of gene products.

This research is supported by the National Institute of Alcoholism, a part of the National Institute of Human Health and the US Department of Defense.

Uyen Nhi