Using a the SERCaMP technology that we previously developed, we show that both a cafeteria diet and high fat diet cause ER calcium dysfunction in rat liver. The dysregulation of ER calcium is implicated in wide variety of disease states. Our findings provide a possible mechanism by which liver function is altered in response to excessive fat in the diet. Our findings our published in the Journal of Hepatology. We describe the characterization and development of multiple transgenic tools that express a near-infrared fluorescent protein (IRFP) in neurons as a reporter of transgene expression. The longer wavelength of light used for visualization offers many advantages over other fluorescent reporters used for neuroscience applications related to understanding the cellular basis of addiction. This work was published in J Neuroscience Methods. In collaboration with Geoffrey Schoenbaum (NIDA) and Marisela Morales (NIDA), we developed a transgenic rat that selectively expresses Cre-recombinase in the GABAergic neurons. Using the rat, they were able to show how GABAergic neurons in the lateral hypothalamus encode reward predictions related to learning. This transgenic rat has been requested by over 50 laboratories world-wide. This work was published in Current Biology. In collaboration with Yun Wang (NIDA and NHRI, Taiwan) we developed AAV vectors to overexpress the mu opioid receptor (MOR) in mice and showed opposing effects of MOR overexpression on methamphetamine sensitization in mice depending on location of MOR overexpression. The work was published in Psychopharmacology. In collaboration Yavin Shaham (NIDA) and Bryan Roth (UNC) we produce an AAV vector to express the KORD DREADD to study brain circuits involved in motivated behavior in rats. The study demonstrated the use of a 'retro-DREADD' dual-virus approach to restrict expression of KORD in ventral subiculum neurons that project to nucleus accumbens shell. The results indicated that the novel KORD is a promising tool to selectively inactivate brain areas and neural circuits in rat studies of motivated behavior. This work was published in Neuropsychopharmacology . In collaboration with William Freed (NIDA) we developed lentiviral vectors to study the effects of CYP3A5 on human neocorticogenesis using an in vitro model of a single cortex unit. This work was published in Neuropsychopharmacology. In collaboration with Dr. Mikko Airavaara we wrote a review on role of trophic factors in addiction. The work was published in Neurobiology of Disease.
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