@article {46616,
	title = {Lmo4 in the nucleus accumbens regulates cocaine sensitivity.},
	journal = {Genes, Brain, and Behavior},
	volume = {9},
	year = {2010},
	month = {2010 Oct},
	pages = {817-24},
	abstract = {<p>An estimated 2 million Americans use cocaine, resulting in large personal and societal costs. Discovery of the genetic factors that contribute to cocaine abuse is important for understanding this complex disease. Previously, mutations in the Drosophila LIM-only (dLmo) gene were identified because of their increased behavioral sensitivity to cocaine. Here we show that the mammalian homolog Lmo4, which is highly expressed in brain regions implicated in drug addiction, plays a similar role in cocaine-induced behaviors. Mice with a global reduction in Lmo4 levels show increased sensitivity to the locomotor stimulatory effects of cocaine upon chronic cocaine administration. This effect is reproduced with downregulation of Lmo4 in the nucleus accumbens by RNA interference. Thus, Lmo genes play conserved roles in regulating the behavioral effects of cocaine in invertebrate and mammalian models of drug addiction.</p>
},
	keywords = {Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing, Animals, Behavior, Animal, beta-Galactosidase, Cells, Cultured, Cloning, Molecular, Cocaine, Dendritic Spines, Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors, Gene Expression, Homeodomain Proteins, Immunohistochemistry, Lentivirus, LIM Domain Proteins, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Microdissection, Motor Activity, Mutagenesis, Insertional, Nucleus Accumbens, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, RNA, RNA Interference, Stereotaxic Techniques, Transcription Factors},
	issn = {1601-183X},
	doi = {10.1111/j.1601-183X.2010.00620.x},
	author = {Lasek, A W and Kapfhamer, D and Kharazia, V and Gesch, J and Giorgetti, F and Heberlein, U}
}
@article {46627,
	title = {Downregulation of mu opioid receptor by RNA interference in the ventral tegmental area reduces ethanol consumption in mice.},
	journal = {Genes, Brain, and Behavior},
	volume = {6},
	year = {2007},
	month = {2007 Nov},
	pages = {728-35},
	abstract = {<p>Pharmacological and genetic studies have implicated the mu opioid receptor (MOR) in the regulation of ethanol intake in animal models and humans. Non-specific antagonists of opioid receptors have been shown to affect ethanol consumption when infused directly into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of rats. However, administration of MOR-selective antagonists into the VTA has yielded mixed results. We used RNA interference (RNAi) to specifically decrease levels of MOR messenger RNA in the VTA of mice and examined the effect on ethanol consumption in a two-bottle choice paradigm. Mice were injected in the VTA with lentivirus expressing either a small hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting MOR or a control shRNA. One week after virus injection, mice were examined for ethanol consumption in a two-bottle choice experiment with increasing concentrations of ethanol over the course of 1 month. Expression of an shRNA targeting MOR in the VTA led to a significant reduction in ethanol consumption. These results strengthen the hypothesis that MOR in the VTA is one of the key brain substrates mediating alcohol consumption. The RNAi combined with lentiviral delivery can be used successfully in brain to effect a sustained reduction in expression of specific genes for behavioral analysis.</p>
},
	keywords = {Administration, Oral, Alcohol Drinking, Animals, Choice Behavior, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Down-Regulation, Ethanol, Female, Gene Transfer Techniques, Lentivirus, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Receptors, Opioid, mu, RNA Interference, RNA, Messenger, RNA, Small Interfering, Ventral Tegmental Area},
	issn = {1601-1848},
	doi = {10.1111/j.1601-183X.2007.00303.x},
	author = {Lasek, A W and Janak, P H and He, L and Whistler, J L and Heberlein, U}
}
