Drug addiction and histone code alterations

Hee Dae Kim, Tanessa Call, Samantha Magazu, Deveroux Ferguson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Acute and prolonged exposure to drugs of abuse induces changes in gene expression, synaptic function, and neural plasticity in brain regions involved in reward. Numerous genes are involved in this process, and persistent changes in gene expression coincide with epigenetic histone modifications and DNA methylation. Histone modifications are attractive regulatory mechanisms, which can encode complex environmental signals in the genome of postmitotic cells, like neurons. Recently, it has been demonstrated that specific histone modifications are involved in addiction-related gene regulatory mechanisms, by a diverse set of histone-modifying enzymes and readers. These histone modifiers and readers may prove to be valuable pharmacological targets for effective treatments for drug addiction.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationAdvances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
PublisherSpringer New York LLC
Pages127-143
Number of pages17
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017

Publication series

NameAdvances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
Volume978

Keywords

  • Addiction
  • Drug of abuse
  • Epigenetics
  • Histone modification
  • Reward circuitry

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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