Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6272960 | Neuroscience | 2015 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
Previous work has implicated the transcription factor, ÎFosB, acting in the nucleus accumbens, in mediating the pro-rewarding effects of drugs of abuse such as cocaine as well as in mediating resilience to chronic social stress. However, the transgenic and viral gene transfer models used to establish these ÎFosB phenotypes express, in addition to ÎFosB, an alternative translation product of ÎFosB mRNA, termed Î2ÎFosB, which lacks the N-terminal 78 aa present in ÎFosB. To study the possible contribution of Î2ÎFosB to these drug and stress phenotypes, we prepared a viral vector that overexpresses a point mutant form of ÎFosB mRNA which cannot undergo alternative translation as well as a vector that overexpresses Î2ÎFosB alone. Our results show that the mutant form of ÎFosB, when overexpressed in the nucleus accumbens, reproduces the enhancement of reward and of resilience seen with our earlier models, with no effects seen for Î2ÎFosB. Overexpression of full length FosB, the other major product of the FosB gene, also has no effect. These findings confirm the unique role of ÎFosB in the nucleus accumbens in controlling responses to drugs of abuse and stress.
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Neuroscience (General)
Authors
Y.N. Ohnishi, Y.H. Ohnishi, V. Vialou, E. Mouzon, Q. LaPlant, A. Nishi, E.J. Nestler,