title: Signaling pathways mediating alcohol effects.
abstract: Ethanol's effects on intracellular signaling pathways contribute to acute effects of ethanol as well as to neuroadaptive responses to repeated ethanol exposure. In this chapter we review recent discoveries that demonstrate how ethanol alters signaling pathways involving several receptor tyrosine kinases and intracellular tyrosine and serine-threonine kinases, with consequences for regulation of cell surface receptor function, gene expression, protein translation, neuronal excitability and animal behavior. We also describe recent work that demonstrates a key role for ethanol in regulating the function of scaffolding proteins that organize signaling complexes into functional units. Finally, we review recent exciting studies demonstrating ethanol modulation of DNA and histone modification and the expression of microRNAs, indicating epigenetic mechanisms by which ethanol regulates neuronal gene expression and addictive behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, University of California San Francisco, 5858 Horton Street, Suite 200, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA. dron@gallo.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Dorit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ron
authors.forename: Robert O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Messing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases