title: The epigenetic landscape of alcoholism.
abstract: Alcoholism is a complex psychiatric disorder that has a multifactorial etiology. Epigenetic mechanisms are uniquely capable of accounting for the multifactorial nature of the disease in that they are highly stable and are affected by environmental factors, including alcohol itself. Chromatin remodeling causes changes in gene expression in specific brain regions contributing to the endophenotypes of alcoholism such as tolerance and dependence. The epigenetic mechanisms that regulate changes in gene expression observed in addictive behaviors respond not only to alcohol exposure but also to comorbid psychopathology such as the presence of anxiety and stress. This review summarizes recent developments in epigenetic research that may play a role in alcoholism. We propose that pharmacologically manipulating epigenetic targets, as demonstrated in various preclinical models, hold great therapeutic potential in the treatment and prevention of alcoholism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Harish R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Amul J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Sakharkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Tara L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Teppen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Tiffani D M
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Berkel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Electronic address: scpandey@uic.edu.
authors.forename: Subhash C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Pandey
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000679:Amygdala / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D019175:DNA Methylation; D057890:Epigenomics; D006801:Humans; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Alcoholism; Amygdala; Anxiety; DNA methylation; Histone acetylation; Negative affective state; Synaptic plasticity