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Review
. 2019 Feb:74:3-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2018.03.006. Epub 2018 Mar 20.

Molecular tools to elucidate factors regulating alcohol use

Marian L Logrip  1
Affiliations
Review

Molecular tools to elucidate factors regulating alcohol use

Marian L Logrip. Alcohol. 2019 Feb.

Abstract

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a pervasive societal problem, marked by high levels of alcohol intake and recidivism. Despite these common disease traits, individuals diagnosed with AUD display a range of disordered drinking and alcohol-related behaviors. The diversity in disease presentation, as well as the established polygenic nature of the disorder and complex neurocircuitry, speaks to the variety of neurochemical changes resulting from alcohol intake that may differentially regulate alcohol-related behaviors. Investigations into the molecular adaptations responsible for maladaptive alcohol-related behavioral outcomes require an ever-evolving set of molecular tools to elucidate with increasing precision how alcohol alters behavior through neurochemical changes. This review highlights recent advances in molecular methodology, addressing how incorporation of these cutting-edge techniques not only may enhance current knowledge of the molecular bases of AUD, but also may facilitate identification of improved treatment targets that may be therapeutic in specific subpopulations of AUD individuals.

Keywords: CRISPR; FLEX; RNAi; TRAP.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The author has no conflicts to report.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. TRAP technology enhances the precision of qPCR templates
Extraction of mRNA from brain tissue collected by microdissection of a region of interest without post-dissection processing produces a mixed-cell total mRNA template (top left). Increasing levels of precision in the source of qPCR mRNA templates is seen with progression through the flow chart, highlighting important differences in the interpretation of observed mRNA alterations based on what manner of template – from the heterogeneity of total mRNA to neuronal population-specified ribosome-associated RNA – is quantified.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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