Nicotine modulates expression of dynamin 1 in rat brain and SH-SY5Y cells

Our previous genetic and proteomic studies demonstrated that dynamin 1 is significantly associated with nicotine dependence (ND) in human smokers and its expression is highly modulated by nicotine in the brains of animals. To provide further molecular evidence for the involvement of dynamin 1 in the etiology of ND, we investigated the regulatory effect of nicotine on the expression of dynamin 1 using both in vivo and in vitro approaches. With quantitative real-time RT-PCR, we found that dynamin 1 mRNA was significantly downregulated, by 30%, 31%, and 38%, in the striatum, hippocampus, and medial basal hypothalamus (MBH), respectively, of nicotine-treated rats (P < 0.01 for all three regions). Further, dynamin 1 protein was downregulated by nicotine in the ventral tegmental area (VTA: 39.5%; P < 0.01), hippocampus (13.4%, P < 0.05), MBH (24.6%, P < 0.01), and amygdala (15.7%, P < 0.05). We also determined the effect of nicotine on human SH-SY5Y cells and found that dynamin 1 mRNA was significantly down-regulated by nicotine after treatment (51.4%; P < 0.01), and a consistent decrease in the amount of the protein was also observed (36.6%; P < 0.05). Taken together, our findings provide further molecular evidence for the involvement of dynamin 1 in the etiology of ND.

Research highlights▶ Dynamin 1 plays an important role in various neuronal processes. ▶ Dynamin 1 is highly associated with smoking dependence. ▶ Dynamin 1 is highly regulated by nicotine at both RNA and protein levels. ▶ Dynamin 1 represents a valuable candidate for further genetic study on addiction.