* Vulnerability to opiate intake in maternally deprived rats: implication of MeCP2 and of histone acetylation.
- We previously showed that maternal deprivation predisposes male rats to anxiety, accompanied with an increase in their opiate consumption. In the present report, we searched for brain epigenetic mechanisms that possibly underlie this increase. For that, we examined the expression of the methyl-CpG-binding protein MeCP2 and of the histone deacetylases HDAC2 and HDAC3, as well as the acetylation status of histone H3 and H4 in mesolimbic structures of adult maternally deprived rats, using immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. A long-lasting increase in MeCP2 expression was found throughout the striatum of deprived rats. Enhanced HDAC2 expression and increased nuclear HDAC activity in the nucleus accumbens of deprived rats were associated with lower acetylation levels of histone H3 and H4. Treatment for 3 weeks with the HDAC inhibitor sodium valproate abolished HDAC activation together with the decrease in the acetylation levels of histone H4, and was accompanied with normalized oral morphine consumption. The data indicate that epigenetic mechanisms induced by early adverse environment memorize life experience to trigger greater opiate vulnerability during adult life. They suggest that sodium valproate may lessen vulnerability to opiate intake, particularly in subgroups of individuals subjected to adverse postnatal environments.
=>大きくなる, を増す, 増大させる, 強まる, 増加, 増える, 増やす
Overview of noun increase
The noun increase has 5 senses (first 5 from tagged texts)
1. (49) addition, increase, gain -- (a quantity that is added; "there was an addition to property
taxes this year"; "they recorded the cattle's gain in weight over a period of weeks")
2. (21) increase -- (a change resulting in an increase; "the increase is scheduled for next month")
3. (7) increase, increment, growth -- (a process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous or
more important; "the increase in unemployment"; "the growth of population")
4. (3) increase, increment -- (the amount by which something increases; "they proposed an increase
of 15 percent in the fare")
5. (3) increase, step-up -- (the act of increasing something; "he gave me an increase in salary")
Overview of verb increase
The verb increase has 2 senses (first 2 from tagged texts)
1. (86) increase -- (become bigger or greater in amount; "The amount of work increased")
2. (61) increase -- (make bigger or more; "The boss finally increased her salary"; "The university
increased the number of students it admitted")
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