title: Genetic regulation of hypothalamic cocaine and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) in BxD inbred mice.
abstract: Cocaine and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript (CART) peptides are implicated in a wide range of behaviors including in the reinforcing properties of psychostimulants, feeding and energy balance and stress and anxiety responses. We conducted a complex trait analysis to examine natural variation in the regulation of CART transcript abundance (CARTta) in the hypothalamus. CART transcript abundance was measured in total hypothalamic RNA from 26 BxD recombinant inbred (RI) mouse strains and in the C57BL/6 (B6) and DBA/2J (D2) progenitor strains. The strain distribution pattern for CARTta was continuous across the RI panel, which is consistent with this being a quantitative trait. Marker regression and interval mapping revealed significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) on mouse chromosome 4 (around 58.2 cM) and chromosome 11 (between 20-36 cM) that influence CARTta and account for 31% of the between strain variance in this phenotype. There are numerous candidate genes and QTL in these chromosomal regions that may indicate shared genetic regulation between CART expression and other neurobiological processes referable to known actions of this neuropeptide.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Brain-Body Center, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA. eboone@psych.uic.edu
authors.forename: Ericka M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Boone
authors.forename: Brian W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Hawks
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Garlow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012044:Regression Analysis; D000098882:Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript Protein
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000098882:Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript Protein