Journal article

Relaxin-3 receptor (RXFP3) signalling mediates stress-related alcohol preference in mice

AW Walker, CM Smith, BE Chua, EV Krstew, C Zhang, AL Gundlach, AJ Lawrence

Plos One | PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE | Published : 2015

Abstract

Stressful life events are causally linked with alcohol use disorders (AUDs), providing support for a hypothesis that alcohol consumption is aimed at stress reduction. We have previously shown that expression of relaxin-3 mRNA in rat brain correlates with alcohol intake and that central antagonism of relaxin-3 receptors (RXFP3) prevents stress-induced reinstatement of alcohol-seeking. Therefore the objectives of these studies were to investigate the impact of Rxfp3 gene deletion in C57BL/6J mice on baseline and stress-related alcohol consumption. Male wild-type (WT) and Rxfp3 knockout (KO) (C57/B6JRXFP3TM1/DGen) littermate mice were tested for baseline saccharin and alcohol consumption and pr..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia project grant (1021227 to ALG and AJL) and NHMRC (Australia) Research Fellowships (1005985 and 1020737) to ALG and AJL; a grant from the Pratt and Besen Foundations (ALG and AJL); and the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program. AWW was the recipient of a University of Melbourne International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.