Issue |
Med Sci (Paris)
Volume 31, Number 4, Avril 2015
Addictions
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | 439 - 446 | |
Section | M/S Revues | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/medsci/20153104019 | |
Published online | 08 May 2015 |
Addiction et régulations épigénétiques
Implications de MeCP2 et de l’acétylation des histones
Epigenetics and drug addiction: a focus on MeCP2 and on histone acetylation
Laboratoire de neurosciences cognitives et adaptatives, UMR 7364, CNRS, université de Strasbourg, faculté de psychologie, 12 rue Goethe, 67000 Strasbourg, France
*
zwiller@neuro-cnrs.unistra.fr ; zwiller@unistra.fr
L’administration répétée de drogues entraîne, dans certaines structures cérébrales, une importante plasticité synaptique dont la mise en place et le maintien nécessitent l’expression de nombreux gènes. L’hypothèse proposée ici est que des régulations épigénétiques participent à l’installation de ces adaptations persistantes. Le point est fait sur la question de la méthylation de l’ADN en réponse aux drogues, et l’accent sera mis sur la protéine MeCP2 (methyl-CpG-binding protein 2), qui se lie à l’ADN méthylé. L’implication de l’acétylation des histones dans le mode d’action des drogues est discutée. Ces régulations représentent potentiellement de nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques pour le traitement de la dépendance aux drogues.
Abstract
Chronic drug exposure alters gene expression in the brain, which is believed to underlie compulsive drug seeking and drug taking behavior. Recent evidence shows that drug-induced long-term neuroadaptations in the brain are mediated in part by epigenetic mechanisms. By remodeling chromatin, this type of regulation contributes to drug-induced synaptic plasticity that translates into behavioral modifications. How drug-induced alterations in DNA methylation regulate gene expression is reviewed here, with a focus on MeCP2, a protein binding methylated DNA. The importance of histone modifications, especially acetylation is also discussed, with an emphasis on the effects of inhibitors of histone deacetylases on drug-induced behavioral changes. The precise identification of the epigenetic mechanisms that are under the control of drugs of abuse may help to uncover novel targets for the treatment of drug seeking and relapse.
© 2015 médecine/sciences – Inserm
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.