Chronic ethanol on mRNA levels of IP3R1, IP3 3-kinase and mGluR1 in mouse Purkinje neurons.

Chronic ethanol exposure is known to alter the polyphosphoinositide (poly-PI) signaling pathway, although the exact sight of regulation is not well understood. In this study, C57B1/6J mice were given a control or an ethanol (6 g kg-1 body wt) liquid diet by gastric intubation daily for 4 weeks. Examination of levels of mRNA for type 1 inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R1), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate 3-kinase (IP3K) and metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) in cerebellar Purkinje neurons by in situ hybridization revealed significant decreases in cellular levels of mRNA encoding both IP3R1 and mGluR1 in the ethanol-treated group compared with controls, but levels of IP3K mRNA were not altered. These results suggest that chronic ethanol consumption selectively alters cellular mRNA in the poly-PI signaling pathway. The decrease in mRNA levels of mGluR1 and IP3R1 may be an important underlying mechanism towards explaining the alcohol-induced degenerative changes in the cerebellar Purkinje neurons.