SELECTIVE BREEDING FOR ETHANOL SENSITIVITY

描述(由申请人提供)：人类发生酒精中毒的遗传风险已被证明与对乙醇最初的影响不敏感或对乙醇产生急性耐受性有关。该项目利用选择性培育的对乙醇初始效应不敏感或敏感的大鼠作为人类这种现象的模型。该项目试图确定在大鼠身上负责这种反应的基因，将这些结果与其他大鼠选择研究中的类似研究和小鼠身上的类似研究进行比较，以预测哪些基因可能对人类的遗传风险因素负责。这项研究利用数量性状基因座(QTL)的确定方法来定位这些基因在大鼠的基因组中。然后使用其他育种(开发同源菌株)和分子生物学方法来关注这些基因所在的基因组中较窄的区域。这将允许识别这些基因，并表明它们对整个动物对乙醇的部分反应负责。这些信息随后被应用于人类研究，以预测在哪里可以找到影响人类患酒精中毒风险的基因。届时，制定预防或治疗战略将成为可能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Genetic risk for development of alcoholism in humans has been shown to be related to insensitivity to the initial effects of ethanol or to the development of acute tolerance to ethanol. This project utilizes rats that have been selectively bred for insensitivity or sensitivity to the initial effects of ethanol as a model of this phenomenon in humans. The project seeks to identify the genes responsible for this response in rats, to compare these results with similar studies in other rat selection studies and in mice to predict which genes may be responsible for the genetic risk factors in humans. The research utilizes methods of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) determination to locate these genes within the genome of the rat. Other breeding (development of congenic strains) and molecular biological methods are then used to focus on a narrower region of the genome in which these genes reside. This will allow the identification of the genes and show that they are responsible for a portion of the response to ethanol in the whole animal. This information is then applied to studies in humans to predict where genes will be found that influence the risk of development of alcoholism in humans. Development of prevention or treatment strategies will then be possible.