GENETICS OF LOW DOSE ETHANOL EFFECTS

在人类酒精中毒的风险因素中，最初对酒精的敏感性较低和/或对乙醇的耐受性发展迅速。这些行为反应可以在动物身上模拟。一个这样的模型是酒精耐受(AT)和酒精不耐受(ANT)大鼠品系，它们是为遗传耐受低剂量、共济失调的乙醇而选择性培育的。这些动物已经被转移到科罗拉多大学，我们将把这些动物的遗传特征与我们选择性培育的那些对高剂量酒精、高酒精敏感(HAS)和低酒精敏感(LAS)大鼠的遗传耐受性进行比较。我们将在这两组动物中定位和比较数量性状基因座，并就对乙醇的一些行为影响的耐受性的发展进行比较。此外，我们将把AT和蚂蚁大鼠提供给国内外的研究人员进行研究。这些数据与老鼠研究中的类似数据一起，将有助于寻找人类酗酒风险因素背后的基因。

Among the risk factors for alcoholism in humans is a low initial sensitivity and/or a rapid development of tolerance to ethanol. These behavioral reactions can be modeled in animals. One such model is Alcohol Tolerant (AT) and Alcohol Non-Tolerant (ANT) lines of rats that were selectively bred for genetic tolerance to a low, ataxic dose of ethanol. These animals have been transferred to the University of Colorado and we will compare the genetic characteristics of these animals with those that we have selectively bred to genetic tolerance to a high, anesthestizing dose of ethanol, the High Alcohol Sensitive (HAS) and Low Alcohol Sensitive (LAS) rats. We will locate and compare Quantitiative Trait Loci in these two groups of animals as well as carry out comparisons on the development of tolerance to a number of behavioral effects of ethanol. In addition we will make the AT and ANT rats available to researchers in this country and abroad for their studies. The data generated along with similar data from studies in mice will be useful in the search for the genes that underlie the risk factors for alcoholism in humans.