Alcohol consumption is affected by a protein linked to the circadian
rhythm
The presence of the Bmal1 gene in a part of the forebrain has opposite
effects on ethanol intake for males and females

Date:
January 11, 2022
Source:
Concordia University
Summary:
Researchers announce that the presence of the Bmal1 gene in the
striatum affects alcohol consumption in both male and female mice
in a sexually dimorphic manner. Male mice without the protein
consumed more alcohol than those that had it, while female mice
without the protein consumed less than females with it.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
It's a commonly heard question after New Year's: "Why do we drink the
way we do?" A group of researchers has found that at least some of it
has to do with a particular protein in the part of the forebrain that regulates, among other things, decision-making and reward perception.


========================================================================== That's the focus of an article published recently in the Nature journal Communications Biology. In it, the researchers announce that the presence
of the Bmal1 gene in the striatum affects alcohol consumption in both
male and female mice -- but in a sexually dimorphic manner. Male mice
without the protein consumed more alcohol than those that had it, while
female mice without the protein consumed less than females with it.

Bmal1 is also an integral element in the suprachiasmatic nucleus,
the master circadian clock found in all mammals that regulates the
sleep-wake cycle.

Previous association analyses of clock genes revealed a potential role
for Bmal1 in alcohol-drinking behaviour. Expanding on this -- and given evidence of sex differences in alcohol consumption and in some functions
of clock genes - - the researchers hypothesized that Bmal1 may affect
alcohol intake in a sex- dependent manner.

The study was led by Nuria de Zavalia, a research associate and
lab manager at the Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology and
supervised by Shimon Amir, a professor of psychology and Distinguished University Research Professor. The co-authors are research associate
Konrad Schoettner, undergraduate student Jory Goldsmith, research
assistant Pavel Solis, alumna Sarah Ferraro (PhD 21) and research
assistant Gabrielle Parent.

Risk in females, protection in males The researchers created two
lines of mice, using molecular biology methods to delete or "knock
out" the Bmal1gene from the striatum's medium spiny neurons in one of
them. The gene remained present in other parts of the body, since it
plays a critical role in the circadian clock. The other line was used
as a control.



========================================================================== Males who had the Bmal1gene deleted from the striatum were found to
consume more alcohol than the ones that did not have it deleted, while in
the females, the results were the opposite: those without Bmal1 consumed
less alcohol than those that had it. (Normally, female rodents tend to
consume more alcohol per body weight than males.) "The main conclusion
we can draw from this is that in females, Bmal1 in the striatum confers
risk, since they consume more alcohol when the gene is present," Amir
says. "In males, the gene is protective, as they drink less alcohol. The
sex differences you see in normal mice are eliminated when the gene is
taken out of the striatum." Amir notes that neither the sugar consumption
nor circadian rhythms is affected by the deletion of the gene.

"It seems that striatal Bmal1 plays a causal role in the control of
alcohol consumption and makes an important contribution to sex differences
in alcohol intake," he explains.

A basis for sex-based treatment? The researchers believe this discovery
can help in treating addiction in humans. For instance, while women
report lower alcohol use and dependency than men, they suffer more
adverse consequences of alcohol use and dependency.

"So far, the limited biological and pharmacological treatments for alcohol dependence don't distinguish between males and females, even though there
are major differences in alcohol drinking behaviour and addiction between
the sexes," he says. "By discovering sexually dimorphic mechanisms,
addiction treatment specialists could ultimately use this knowledge
to develop sex-based treatment." This work was funded by grants from theCanadian Institutes of Health Research.

special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> academy.newscientist.com/courses/science-of-sleep-and-dreams ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Concordia_University. Original written
by Patrick Lejtenyi. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Nuria de Zavalia, Konrad Schoettner, Jory A. Goldsmith, Pavel Solis,
Sarah Ferraro, Gabrielle Parent, Shimon Amir. Bmal1
in the striatum influences alcohol intake in a sexually
dimorphic manner. Communications Biology, 2021; 4 (1) DOI:
10.1038/s42003-021-02715-9 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220111193032.htm

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