Study Finds that Reducing MicroRNAs in Mice Helps with Cocaine Addiction
Posted under Cocaine on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Researchers have been searching for a treatment for cocaine addiction for years, and a new study finds suggests that a treatment be closer than ever before.
Cocaine is an extremely addictive drug that increases levels of dopamine in the brain and changes gene and protein expression, which suggests the presence of a mechanism that facilitates a cellular response to cocaine. Using this information, researchers from Rockefeller University found that a set of microRNAS, or pieces of genetic material that influence gene expression, play a key role in cocaine addiction.
Anne Schaefer and Paul Greengard of Rockefeller University found that Argonaute 2 (Ago2), which helps generate microRNAs is involved in regulating cocaine addiction.They gave cocaine to mice with a deficiency of Ago2, and found that they consumed much less cocaine than mice without this deficiency.
The results, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, show that reducing the abundance of microRNAs reduces cocaine cravings in mice, which could lead to a new treatment for humans who are addicted to cocaine.
Of the 23 Ago2-dependent microRNAs whose expressions increased after cocaine administration in mice, several were found to regulate the gene expressions that are associated with drug addiction.
More research needs to be done to find out which of the microRNAs control addiction in mice and whether this can be replicated in humans.
Sources: Journal of Experimental Medicine, Argonaute 2 in dopamine 2 receptor–expressing neurons regulates cocaine addiction, July 19, 2010
Science Daily, Tuning Cocaine Addiction, July 19, 2010
