A chimeric approach to evaluate the role of corticotropin releasing factor in alcohol use disorder

The corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) exerts its effects by acting on its receptors and on the binding protein (CRFBP), and has been implicated in alcohol use disorder (AUD). Therefore, identification of the exact contribution of each protein that mediates CRF effects is necessary to design effective therapeutic strategies for AUD. A series of in vitro chimeric experiments using CRF-receptor 2 (CRFR2) and CRFBP were performed to define the allosteric modulation of CRF on CRFR2. First, to establish the CRFBP role in receptor signaling, we developed a novel chimeric cell-based assay and showed that that CFRBP full length (FL) can stably be expressed on the plasma membrane.

Source: Alcohol - May 1, 2017 Category: Addiction Authors: Carolina L. Haass-Koffler, Andrea T. Henry, Gerd Melkus, Jeffrey A. Simms, Mohammed Naemmuddin, Carsten K. Nielsen, Amy W. Lasek, Molly Magill, Melanie L. Schwandt, Reza Momenan, Colin A. Hodgkinson, Selena E. Bartlett, Robert M. Swift, Antonello Bonci, L Source Type: research