Chronic Voluntary Alcohol Consumption Alters Promoter Methylation and Expression of <i>Fgf-2</i> and <i>Fgfr1</i>

oleh: Leonie Herburg, Mathias Rhein, Sabrina Kubinski, Ekaterini Kefalakes, Matar Levin Greenwald, Simona Gielman, Segev Barak, Helge Frieling, Claudia Grothe

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-02-01

Deskripsi

Alcohol abuse accounts for 3.3 million deaths annually, rendering it a global health issue. Recently, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) and its target, fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1), were discovered to positively regulate alcohol-drinking behaviors in mice. We tested whether alcohol intake and withdrawal alter DNA methylation of <i>Fgf-2</i> and <i>Fgfr1</i> and if there is a correlation regarding mRNA expression of these genes. Blood and brain tissues of mice receiving alcohol intermittently over a six-week period were analyzed using direct bisulfite sequencing and qRT-PCR analysis. Assessment of <i>Fgf-2</i> and <i>Fgfr1</i> promoter methylation revealed changes in the methylation of cytosines in the alcohol group compared with the control group. Moreover, we showed that the altered cytosines coincided with binding motives of several transcription factors. We also found that <i>Fgf-2</i> and <i>Fgfr1</i> gene expression was significantly decreased in alcohol-receiving mice compared with control littermates, and that this effect was specifically detected in the dorsomedial striatum, a brain region involved in the circuitry of the reward system. Overall, our data showed alcohol-induced alterations in both mRNA expression and methylation pattern of <i>Fgf-2</i> and <i>Fgfr1</i>. Furthermore, these alterations showed a reward system regional specificity, therefore, resembling potential targets for future pharmacological interventions.