An Alcoholic Gene?

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California recently published an article in Biological Psychiatry, linking a key gene to an increased risk for development of alcohol dependence. In their research, they discovered that the gene, called the neurofibromatosis type 1 (Nf1) gene, is a key regulator in the signaling pathway stimulated with alcohol use and that mutations in this gene may lead to increased susceptibility toward alcohol dependence.

Their study was conducted in two steps:

1. They altered the Nf1 gene in mice and found that mice with the altered gene were not affected by ethanol exposure (i.e. they did not tend to develop dependence)
2. They looked for different forms of the Nf1 gene in humans, and compared them to the subjects’ tendencies to display alcohol dependence.

Their conclusion…

In this translational investigation, we found that Nf1 activity regulates excessive drinking and basal and ethanol-stimulated GABA release in the mouse central amygdala. We also found that genetic variation in NF1 may confer an inherent susceptibility to the transition from non-dependent to dependent drinking in humans.

In other words, people who have a certain forms of the Nf1 gene may have an increased risk for developing a chemical dependence on alcohol. Check out their abstract and other articles below!

References:

Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/08/27/will-your-child-become-an-alcoholic-scientists-identify-key-gene/

Official Abstract in Biological Psychiatry: http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223%2814%2900606-4/abstract