Study identifies new target for preventing and treating alcoholism

New research conducted at OHSU in Portland, Oregon, identifies a gene that could be a new target for the development of drugs to prevent and treat alcoholism.

Scientists at Oregon's National Center for Research on Oasis primates found a gene that had a lower expression in the brain of non-human primates that voluntarily consumed large amounts of alcohol compared to those who drank less.

In addition, the research team has uncovered a link between alcohol and how it modulates the activity levels of that particular gene. The researchers found that, when they increased the levels of protein encoded by the gene in mice, they reduced alcohol consumption by up to 50% without affecting the total amount of fluid consumed or their well-being. to be general.

The study was recently published online in the journal neuropsychopharmacology.

The study altered the levels of the protein encoded by a single gene, GPR39, which is a zinc binding receptor previously badociated with depression. Prevalence rates for concomitant mood and alcohol use disorders are high, with people with alcohol use disorder being 3.7 times more likely to suffer from major depression than those with a history of alcohol abuse. do not abuse alcohol. Using a commercially available substance that mimics the activity of the GPR39 protein, the researchers found that targeting this gene significantly reduced alcohol consumption in mice.

"The study underscores the importance of using interspecies approaches to identify and test drugs relevant to the treatment of alcoholism disorder," said lead author Rita Cervera -Juanes, Ph.D., badistant research professor in the divisions of Neuroscience and Genetics at ONPRC.

To determine if the same mechanism affects people, this team of researchers is currently examining post-mortem tissue samples taken from the brains of people with alcoholism.

At present, there is only a handful of alcoholism treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration. By testing the effect of the substance on the reduction of ethanol consumption in mice – in addition to its previously reported link for the reduction of symptoms similar to depression – the results could point the way to development of a drug that prevents and treats both chronic alcoholism and mood disorders.

"We are discovering new targets for which there are already medicines, and they can be reused to treat other conditions," said Cervera-Juanes. "For alcoholism, it's huge because there are currently only a handful of FDA-approved medications."

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University of Health and Sciences of Oregon