A TOOL TO STUDY THE DIVERSE BEHAVIOR EFFECTS OF GALANIN

神经肽甘丙氨酸与许多生物系统有关：疼痛传递、抑郁/焦虑、记忆和摄食行为。这导致了对甘丙肽及其功能的兴趣稳步增加。然而，甘丙氨酸在这些正常过程中的作用，以及它所涉及的病理，如阿尔茨海默病，都没有得到充分的了解。这一建议为研究它的作用提供了一个工具：一种毒素，特定于受丙氨酸刺激的神经元。该工具由甘丙蛋白和核糖体失活蛋白皂苷之间的融合蛋白组成。移除这些神经元，以及随之而来的行为变化，将使上述研究领域的科学家能够研究这些神经元如何参与每种行为。由于这种肽影响不同的系统，这个工具将对大量的科学家有用。由于许多（虽然不是全部）利用丙氨酸的生物系统会影响药物使用和滥用，因此该工具也将使人们对这些过程有更深入的了解。建议的商业应用：该建议将产生用于神经肽丙氨酸功能研究的商业试剂。该试剂将用于研究疼痛、抑郁/焦虑、疼痛、药物滥用、记忆和喂养等领域的科学家。这些都是非常有趣的话题，因为在过去的十年里神经科学有了新的发现。

The neuropeptide galanin has been implicated in a wide range of biological systems: pain transmission, depression/anxiety, memory and feeding behavior. This has resulted in a steady increase in interest in galanin and its functions. However, the role of galanin is neither fully understood in these normal processes nor in pathologies in which it is involved, such as Alzheimer's disease. This proposal provides a tool for the study of its role: a toxin specific for the neurons that are stimulated by galanin. The tool consists of a fusion protein between galanin and the ribosome inactivating protein saporin. The removal of these neurons, and the concomitant changes in behavior, will allow scientists in the above areas of research to study how these neurons participate in each of the behaviors. Because of the different diverse systems that this peptide affects, this tool will be useful to a large number of scientists. Because many, ff not all, of the biological systems utilizing galanin impact drug use and abuse, the tool will result in a greater understanding of those processes also. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: This proposal will result in a commercial reagent for the study of the function of the neuropeptide galanin. The reagent will be used by research scientists who work in the fields of pain, depression/anxiety, pain, drug abuse, memory and feeding. These are topics that are of great interest because of new discoveries in the neurosciences in the last ten years.