Gene-edited brain 'factory reset' may cure anxiety and alcoholism

The study was released by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago who have been studying the effects of alcoholism in early life on health in later life

In previous research, the UIC team found that alcohol abuse during adolescence alters chemicals in the brain's boosted regions of the Arc gene -- an activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein immediate early gene -- and reduces almond and almond growth in rodents and humans.

In the new study, the researchers show that this epigenetic reprogramming throughout life can actually be reversed by gene editing

"Early alcohol abuse can have lasting and significant effects on the brain, and the results of this study provide evidence that gene editing is a potential antidote to these effects, providing a kind of factory reset for the brain

Pandey and his team used a gene-editing tool called CRISPR-dCas9 in their experiments to manipulate the Arc gene's histone acetylation and methylation processes in an adult rat model

First, the researchers studied adult mice who drank intermittently during adolescence, which were about 10 to 18 years old in humans

Anxiety was measured by behavioral tests, such as recording the exploratory activities of rats placed in a maze test, while alcohol preference was measured by monitoring when rats were confronted with two bottles of water (including tap water, sugar water, and different concentrations of alcohol (3%, 7% and 9%)

In a second model, the researchers studied adult mice without early alcohol exposure

"These results suggest that epigenome editing in the amygdala can improve adult psychopathology following adolescent alcohol exposure," the authors report

"Adolescent alcohol abuse is a serious public health problem, and this research not only helps us better understand what happens to the developing brain when they are exposed to high levels of alcohol, but more importantly, it gives us There is hope that one day we will have effective treatments for complex and multifaceted disorders such as anxiety and alcohol use disorders

John Peyton W.