DURHAM, N.C. -- Researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke
University Medical Center have deleted the gene for a crucial molecular
component of a mouse's nervous system and created an animal that, in essence,
mimics a person constantly high on illicit drugs.
Marc Caron, a Hughes investigator and professor of cell biology at Duke,
said initial studies with the mice already have yielded surprising insights
that challenge conventional theories about drug addiction and Parkinson's
disease and may provide the first realistic model for testing new treatments
for psychiatric disorders.
"We were astonished that a single genetic deletion would have such
a profound effect on both biology and behavior," Caron said. "We
believe this mouse will provide an ideal model to study addictive behavior
and psychiatric disease."
Caron and his colleagues report their findings in the Feb. 15 issue of the
journal Nature. Bruno Giros, the study's lead author, Mohamed Jaber, and
Sara Jones of the department of cell biology; and R. Mark Wightman, of the
department of neurobiology and chemistry at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, also contributed to the research. The study was funded in
part by the National Institutes of Health and an unrestricted neuroscience
award from Bristol Myers Squibb.
Caron said in an interview that while it may seem a stretch for one genetically
engineered mouse to help answer fundamental questions about the mechanism
of addictive drugs, Parkinson's disease, and psychiatric disorders, all
are linked by a common problem: a malfunction in the body's regulation of
dopamine, an essential messenger of the nervous system.
Neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline are chemical
messengers that neurons release to their neighbors to signal them to fire
nerve impulses or initiate metabolic changes. Because neurotransmitters
are so critical to the smooth functioning of the nervous s
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Contact: Karyn Hede George
georg016@mc.duke.edu
919-660-1301
Duke University
29-Apr-1996