SEROTONERGIC GENE FUNCTION AND BEHAVIOR IN TRANSGENIC MICE

由于酒精中毒与血清素周转减少有关，我们 专注于研究多巴胺能行为的遗传决定因素， 导致酗酒倾向的因素。 在神经元中， 在中缝核中，5-羟色胺的生物合成受 色氨酸羟化酶（TPH），这是限速酶。 的 先前克隆了编码鼠TPH的cDNA和基因。 这些 序列已经与来自HSV胸苷激酶的序列组合， 小鼠金属硫蛋白基因。 这些基因被引入小鼠体内 胚胎，以创造转基因小鼠，研究基因序列控制 组织特异性和发育表达，并描述其作用 高和低TPH基因活性和TPH表达细胞的消融 关于行为。

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 neurons, of the raphe nuclei, serotonin biosynthesis is governed by the activity of the tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) enzyme, which is rate-limiting. The cDNA and gene coding for murine TPH were previously cloned. These sequences have been combined with sequences from HSV thymidine Kinase and mouse metallothionein genes. These are being introduced into mouse embryos to create transgenic mice to study gene sequences controlling tissue-specific and developmental expression and to characterize effects of high and low TPH gene activity and ablation of TPH-expressing cells on behavior.