Publication Date:
1990-07-20
Description:
Animal lines selected for differences in drug sensitivity can be used to help determine the molecular basis of drug action. Long-sleep (LS) and short-sleep (SS) mice differ markedly in their genetic sensitivity to ethanol. To investigate the molecular basis for this difference, mRNA from brains of LS and SS mice was expressed in Xenopus oocytes and the ethanol sensitivity of gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABAA)- and N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA)-activated ion channels was tested. Ethanol facilitated GABA responses in oocytes injected with mRNA from LS mice but antagonized responses in oocytes injected with mRNA from SS animals. Ethanol inhibited NMDA responses equally in the two lines. Thus, genes coding for the GABAA receptor or associated proteins may be critical determinants of individual differences in ethanol sensitivity.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Wafford, K A -- Burnett, D M -- Dunwiddie, T V -- Harris, R A -- AA03527/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/ -- AA06399/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 1990 Jul 20;249(4966):291-3.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1695761" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Animals
;
Aspartic Acid/analogs & derivatives/pharmacology
;
Brain/*metabolism
;
Chloride Channels
;
Chlorides/*physiology
;
Diazepam/pharmacology
;
Ethanol/*pharmacology
;
Female
;
Ion Channels/drug effects/physiology
;
Membrane Proteins/*physiology
;
Mice
;
Mice, Inbred Strains
;
Microinjections
;
N-Methylaspartate
;
Oocytes/*drug effects/*physiology
;
RNA, Messenger/administration & dosage/genetics
;
Receptors, GABA-A/drug effects/*genetics
;
Xenopus
;
gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/pharmacology
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
