Strong beta-arrestin signaling may cause unwanted effects for drug treatments of alcohol use disorders

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease which carries a large socioeconomic burden; it is estimated that 17 million adults in the United States suffer from AUD. The delta opioid receptors (DORs) are an exciting new target for treatment of AUD as activation of DORs can not only reduce alcohol intake, but can also reduce anxiety and depression, which are often co-morbid with AUD. We have recently identified that the ability of DOR agonist to modulate alcohol consumption in mice is tightly correlated with a DOR agonist ’s ability to recruit β-arrestin2, a protein involved in both receptor trafficking and signaling.

Source: Alcohol - May 1, 2017 Category: Addiction Authors: Richard M. van Rijn, Terrance Chiang, Rob J. Cassell, Kendall L. Mores, Mohamed S.A. El-Sayed, Mark S. Cushman, Amr H.A. Abdallah, Markus A. Lill Source Type: research