Possible involvement of ACSS2 gene in alcoholism.

Alcoholism is a psychiatric disorder that composes one of the principal causes of health disabilities in the world population. Furthermore, the available pharmacotherapy is limited. Therefore, this research was carried out to better understand the basis of the underlying neurobiological processes of this disorder and to discover potential therapeutic targets. Real-time PCR analysis was performed in the amygdala nuclei region of the brain of mice exposed to a chronic three-bottle free-choice model (water, 5 and 10% v/v ethanol). Based on individual ethanol intake, the mice were classified into three groups: "compulsive-like" (i.e., ethanol intake not affected by quinine adulteration), "ethanol-preferring" and "ethanol non-preferring". A fourth group had access only to tap water (control group). The candidate gene ACSS2 was genotyped in human alcoholics by real-time polymerase chain reaction using the markers rs6088638 and rs7266550. Seven genes were picked out (Acss2, Acss3, Acat1, Acsl1, Acaa2, Hadh, and Hadhb) and the mRNA level of the Acss2 gene was increased only in the "compulsive-like" group (p = 0.004). The allele frequency of rs6088638 for the gene ACSS2 was higher in the Alcoholic human group (p = 0.03), although sample size was very small. The gene ACSS2 is associated with alcoholism, suggesting that biochemical pathways where it participates may have a role in the biological mechanisms susceptible to the ethanol effects.

Evidence for transfer of enzyme product as the basis of metabolic cooperation between tissue culture fibroblasts of Lesch-Nyhan disease and normal cells.

Tissue culture fibroblasts derived from patients with Lesch-Nyhan disease (congenital hyperuricosuria) have a reduced IMP:pyrophosphate phosphoribosyltransferase (EC 2.4.2.8) activity and therefore incorporate, as detected by radioautography, much smaller amounts of tritiated hypoxanthine or guanine into cell nuclei and cytoplasm than do normal cells. However, Lesch-Nyhan cells grown in close contact with normal fibroblasts incorporate these purines. This phenomenon, which requires cell to cell contact for correction of the mutant phenotype, has been called metabolic cooperation. After separation of Lesch-Nyhan cells from normal cells, there is a prompt reversion to the mutant phenotype although the transferase is stable under these conditions for many hours.These results are most compatible with the transfer from normal to mutant fibroblasts of the product of the normal enzyme, a nucleotide or a nucleotide derivative, rather than the transfer of the transferase or informational macromolecules leading to the synthesis of the enzyme. Metabolic cooperation may provide a mechanism for maintaining normal cell function in the heterozygote in vivo. Evidence has been presented previously that selection of normal cells, presumably during embryogenesis, also provides a means for achieving normal function in the heterozygote.