The goal of the current application is to provide Dr. Igor Ponomarev with career development opportunities under the mentorship of Dr. R. Adron Harris. The excellent research environment, faculty and facilities at the University of Texas at Austin will allow him to sharpen his skills as a young investigator and to learn cellular neuroscience techniques such as brain microinjections and laser capture microdissection. These techniques will allow Dr. Ponomarev to identify and dissect individual neuronal populations for gene expression analysis and also to apply interference RNA and pharmacological agents to test functionality of differentially regulated candidate genes. Training under this award will better prepare Dr. Ponomarev for a career in academic science and compliment his expertise in behavioral neurogenetics and functional genomics. Because excessive alcohol consumption is a prerequisite for the development of alcohol dependence, it is important to identify molecular targets associated with high alcohol intake in order to understand the mechanisms of alcoholism progression, which mediate the switch from controlled alcohol consumption to alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. The overall goal of this proposal is to determine the effects of genetic factors and drinking high amounts of alcohol on gene expression in specific brain regions believed to be involved in regulation of alcohol consumption and different populations of dopamine neurons projecting to these brain regions. We will use brain microinjections, laser capture microdisections and cDNA microarrays to study patterns of gene expression in brain regions and neurons of genetically selected mice with predisposition to high alcohol consumption. We hypothesize that different brain regions and neuronal populations of alcohol-related neurocircuitry can be distinguished by their individual patterns of gene expression and by their distinct transcriptional responses to genetic selection and alcohol drinking. The long-term goals of these studies are to determine roles of individual neuronal populations in alcohol actions and to identify cell type - specific alcohol-sensitive genes and gene products as potential therapeutic targets for alcoholism.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
5K01AA017234-05
Application #
8302417
Study Section
Health Services Research Review Subcommittee (AA)
Program Officer
Parsian, Abbas
Project Start
2008-07-01
Project End
2014-06-30
Budget Start
2012-07-01
Budget End
2014-06-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$135,000
Indirect Cost
$10,000
Name
University of Texas Austin
Department
Miscellaneous
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
170230239
City
Austin
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
78712
Marballi, K; Genabai, N K; Blednov, Y A et al. (2016) Alcohol consumption induces global gene expression changes in VTA dopaminergic neurons. Genes Brain Behav 15:318-26
Ponomarev, Igor (2013) Epigenetic control of gene expression in the alcoholic brain. Alcohol Res 35:69-76
Osterndorff-Kahanek, Elizabeth; Ponomarev, Igor; Blednov, Yuri A et al. (2013) Gene expression in brain and liver produced by three different regimens of alcohol consumption in mice: comparison with immune activation. PLoS One 8:e59870
Reilly, Matthew T; Faulkner, Geoffrey J; Dubnau, Joshua et al. (2013) The role of transposable elements in health and diseases of the central nervous system. J Neurosci 33:17577-86
Blednov, Yuri A; Ponomarev, Igor; Geil, Chelsea et al. (2012) Neuroimmune regulation of alcohol consumption: behavioral validation of genes obtained from genomic studies. Addict Biol 17:108-20
Ponomarev, Igor; Wang, Shi; Zhang, Lingling et al. (2012) Gene coexpression networks in human brain identify epigenetic modifications in alcohol dependence. J Neurosci 32:1884-97
Harris, R A; Osterndorff-Kahanek, E; Ponomarev, I et al. (2011) Testing the silence of mutations: Transcriptomic and behavioral studies of GABA(A) receptor ýý1 and ýý2 subunit knock-in mice. Neurosci Lett 488:31-5
Mulligan, Megan K; Rhodes, Justin S; Crabbe, John C et al. (2011) Molecular profiles of drinking alcohol to intoxication in C57BL/6J mice. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 35:659-70
Ponomarev, Igor; Rau, Vinuta; Eger, Edmond I et al. (2010) Amygdala transcriptome and cellular mechanisms underlying stress-enhanced fear learning in a rat model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology 35:1402-11