SEROTONERGIC GENE FUNCTION AND BEHAVIOR IN TRANSGENIC MICE

因为酗酒与减少 5-羟色胺周转，我们关注的是 5-羟色胺能行为以确定导致 容易酗酒。在中缝核团的神经元中， 5-羟色胺的生物合成受色氨酸的活性控制 羟基酶(TPH)，这是限速的。序列来自 TPH启动子和上游控制区已被 结合单纯疱疹病毒胸苷激酶的编码序列 吉恩。这种结构正被引入到小鼠胚胎中，以 创造转基因小鼠。更昔洛韦脑内注射 这些转基因小鼠应该特异性地去除5-羟色胺能 注射部位空隙中的神经元。这些研究将是 用来研究5-羟色胺能神经元在不同的 行为、神经通路和大脑发育。

Since alcoholism is associated with decreased serotonin turnover, we have focused on genetic determinants of serotonergic behaviors to identify factors contributing to a predisposition to alcoholism. In the neurons of the raphe nuclei, serotonin biosynthesis is governed by the activity of the tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) enzyme, which is rate-limiting. Sequences from the TPH promoter and upstream control regions have been combined with the coding sequence of the HSV thymidine kinase gene. This construct is being introduced into mouse embryos to create transgenic mice. Injection of ganciclovir into the brain of these transgenic mice should specifically ablate serotonergic neurons in the vacinity of the injection site. These studies will be used to investigate the role of serotonergic neurons in various behaviors, neural pathways and brain development.