title: TLR3 deficiency increases voluntary alcohol consumption.
abstract: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are innate immunity-related receptors. Many studies have indicated the involvement of TLRs in neurophysiology and neuropathology. One study showed that TLR3 regulates hippocampal memory and is highly expressed in the mesolimbic dopamine system, suggesting that TLR3 signaling may regulate alcohol consumption. The present study assessed the potential role of TLR3 in alcohol intake pattern. We used adult BalbC wild-type mice and TLR3 knockout mice and tested two-bottle alcohol preference over 15 days and one-bottle 2 or 4 h drinking in the dark over 4 consecutive days. The 10% alcohol consumption rate of TLR3 knockout mice increased on the 24 h free-choice test. Our findings support a potential regulatory role of TLR3 in alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: Departments of aPhysiology bAnatomy cMyunggok Medical Research Institute, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon dLaboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yujin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Min Hee
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jong-Hwan
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Seung-Yun
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Dong Kwan
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D051196:Toll-Like Receptor 3 / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C519703:TLR3 protein, mouse; D051196:Toll-Like Receptor 3