title: Epigenetics: a link between addiction and social environment.
abstract: The detrimental effects of drug abuse are apparently not limited to individuals but may also impact the vulnerability of their progenies to develop addictive behaviours. Epigenetic signatures, early life experience and environmental factors, converge to influence gene expression patterns in addiction phenotypes and consequently may serve as mediators of behavioural trait transmission between generations. The majority of studies investigating the role of epigenetics in addiction do not consider the influence of social interactions. This shortcoming in current experimental approaches necessitates developing social models that reflect the addictive behaviour in a free-living social environment. Furthermore, this review also reports on the advancement of interventions for drug addiction and takes into account the emerging roles of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors in the etiology of drug addiction and that HDAC may be a potential therapeutic target at nucleosomal level to improve treatment outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Human Physiology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4000, South Africa.
authors.forename: Duyilemi C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Ajonijebu
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Human Physiology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4000, South Africa. oualid.ab@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Oualid
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Abboussi
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Human Physiology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4000, South Africa.
authors.forename: Vivienne A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Human Physiology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4000, South Africa.
authors.forename: Musa V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Mabandla
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Human Physiology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4000, South Africa.|School of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: William M U
authors.initials: WMU
authors.lastname: Daniels
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / Q000187:drug effects; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D055808:Drug Discovery; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D056572:Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006655:Histone Deacetylases / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D012931:Social Environment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D056572:Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors; D006657:Histones; D006655:Histone Deacetylases
keywords: Chromatin remodeling; Cocaine and alcohol abuse; DNA methylation; Environmental stimuli; Epigenomic programming and inheritance; Social stress