Journal article

Relaxin-3/RXFP3 system regulates alcohol-seeking

PJ Ryan, HE Kastman, EV Krstew, KJ Rosengren, MA Hossain, L Churilov, JD Wade, AL Gundlach, AJ Lawrence

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | NATL ACAD SCIENCES | Published : 2013

Abstract

Relapse and hazardous drinking represent the most difficult clinical problems in treating patients with alcohol use disorders. Using a rat model of alcohol use and alcohol-seeking, we demonstrated that central administration of peptide antagonists for relaxin family peptide 3 receptor (RXFP3), the cognate receptor for the highly conserved neuropeptide, relaxin-3, decreased selfadministration of alcohol in a dose-related manner and attenuated cue- and stress-induced reinstatement following extinction. By comparison, RXFP3 antagonist treatment did not significantly attenuate self-administration or reinstatement of sucrose-seeking, suggesting a selective effect for alcohol. RXFP3 is densely exp..

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Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia


Funding Acknowledgements

We thank Elena Buchler (Zentralinstitut fur Seelische Gesundheit, Mannheim, Germany) and Shaun Khoo (University of New South Wales, Sydney) for technical assistance. These studies were supported in part by Project Grants 508976, 509246, and 1021227 from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, of which J.D.W., A.L.G., and A.J.L. are Research Fellows. We acknowledge financial support from the Besen Family and Pratt Foundations and the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program. P.J.R. was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award and a Dowd Foundation Scholarship. H.E.K. was supported by an Uppsala University Exchange Scholarship and a University of Melbourne International Scholarship.