Increased expression of mitochondrial genes in XXXX alcoholic brain revealed by differential display.

@entity1 @entity167 @entity35
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based differential display was used to screen for alterations in gene expression in the mesolimbic system of the @entity1 alcoholic brain. Total RNA was extracted from the nucleus accumbens of five alcoholic and five control brains. A selected subpopulation of mRNA was reverse-transcribed to cDNA and amplified by PCR. A differentially expressed cDNA fragment was recovered, cloned, and sequenced. Full sequence analysis of this 467 bp fragment revealed 98.2% homology with the @entity1 mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. Dot-blot analysis showed increased expression of this gene in nucleus accumbens and hippocampus, but not in the superior frontal cortex, primary motor cortex, caudate, and pallidus/putamen in a total of eight @entity1 alcoholic brains, compared with seven control brains. A similar increased expression was observed by dot-blot analysis, using RNA from the cerebral cortex of @entity35 chronically treated with @entity167 vapor. Hybridization of a 16S rRNA oligonucleotide probe indicated that the expression of both rRNAs genes was significantly increased in nucleus accumbens. These results indicate that chronic @entity167 consumption induces alteration in expression of mitochondrial genes in selected brain regions. The altered gene expression may reflect mitochondrial dysfunction in the @entity167 -affected brain.
