New target for treating alcoholism
Activating GPR139 in rats reduced excessive alcohol use and pain of withdrawal
- Date:
- June 25, 2018
- Source:
- Society for Neuroscience
- Summary:
- Activation of a receptor with no known function in the brain reduces excessive alcohol use and the pain of withdrawal, according to preclinical research in male rats. The study suggests a new approach towards the treatment of alcohol use disorder.
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Activation of a receptor with no known function in the brain reduces excessive alcohol use and the pain of withdrawal, according to preclinical research in male rats. The study, published in eNeuro, suggests a new approach towards the treatment of alcohol use disorder.
More than a third of approved pharmaceutical drugs target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). One receptor belonging to this family, GPR139, is highly expressed in the habenula -- a brain region with a critical role in addiction.
Olivier George and colleagues used a rat model of alcohol dependence and a substance that activates GPR139 to establish a previously unknown role for the receptor in addiction-like behavior. The researchers found that activation of GPR139 reduced alcohol intake and restored pain sensitivity thresholds only in alcohol-dependent mice that showed compulsive-like alcohol consumption akin to problematic drinking in humans.
This study is the first to establish an effect of GPR139 manipulation on behavior and encourages investigation of the receptor as a potential drug target in the development of medications for alcohol dependence.
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Journal Reference:
- Jenni Kononoff, Marsida Kallupi, Adam Kimbrough, Dana Conlisk, Giordano de Guglielmo, Olivier George. Systemic and Intra-Habenular Activation of the Orphan G Protein-Coupled Receptor GPR139 Decreases Compulsive-like Alcohol Drinking and Hyperalgesia in Alcohol-Dependent Rats. eneuro, 2018; ENEURO.0153-18.2018 DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0153-18.2018
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