Faraj B A, Olkowski Z L, Jackson R T
Department of Radiology (Division of Nuclear Medicine), Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Biochem Pharmacol. 1997 Jan 10;53(1):53-7. doi: 10.1016/s0006-2952(96)00726-5.
An impairment in serotonergic neurotransmission may be associated with alcoholism. We recently identified a high-affinity serotonin transporter (5-HTT) in human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). Moreover, molecular analysis of RNA samples of human lymphocytes using reverse transcription, coupled with polymerase chain reaction, enabled us to confirm the expression of a 5-HTT identical to the one reported in neuronal tissues, as evidenced by hybridization and sequence analysis. In this investigation, we measured the serotonin (5-HT) uptake in PBLs of recovering alcoholics (N = 10) with long-term abstinence (2-10 years) and non-alcoholic controls (N = 10). 5-HT uptake was measured by incubating 1 x 10(7) cells of PBLs with [3H]5-HT (3-1000 nM; sp. act. 23 Ci/mmol) for 10 min at 37 degrees. The results of this preliminary study revealed that abstinent alcoholics had significantly (P < 0.01) increased uptake of 5-HT (43.6 +/- 5.70 pmol/10(7) cells) as compared with controls (23.33 +/- 2.50 pmol/10(7) cells). An enhanced uptake of 5-HT in PBLs of abstinent alcoholics agrees with previously reported observations of increased 5-HT uptake in brain and platelets of former alcoholics and their descendants. This suggested that a serotonergic mechanism may be linked to the heredity of alcoholism.
