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A large number of in vivo studies in the last decade have confirmed that abused drugs are able to up-regulate gene expression in striatal neurons. For example, acute or chronic exposures to psychostimulants, cocaine and amphetamine, increased basal levels of mRNA and protein products of imme ...

RNA is transcribed in the cell nucleus from a DNA template with ribonucleotides as the building blocks. As RNA is transported out of the nucleus, it is spliced; that is, predetermined sequences (introns) are cut out of the transcript. If certain introns serve as either exons or introns, “alternative ...

Studies of RNA expression within the central nervous system (CNS) have contributed significantly to increased understanding of both the acute and long-term neurological effects of drugs of abuse. Before beginning such an investigation, however, one must first determine the method of ...

The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has become a standard tool in gene expression analysis studies (1,2). Starting with a very small amount of material (usually total RNA), the investigator is able to copy the RNA by reverse transcription (RT) to produce single-st ...

Differential display polymerase chain reaction (DDPCR) is a technique that allows comparisons between the expressed mRNA population in two or more tissues, or in the same tissue under two or more different conditions. For example, it has been used to discover striatal genes whose expression ...

TaqMan reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (TaqMan RT-PCR) is a recently developed technique (1) that has been used to study gene expression in tissues of the central nervous system (CNS) including the striatum. For example, TaqMan has been used to profile mRNA distribution ...

In the field of drug abuse research, a critical need is to identify the events that underlie the transition from recreational drug use to drug abuse and addiction. It is clear that the mechanisms will involve psychosocial, behavioral, neuroanatomical, and molecular biological components. ...

Stimulant drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine, and methylphenidate induce their primary pharmacological actions through elevation of dopamine levels in the brain. The most dense innervation of dopamine nerve terminals in the central nervous system (CNS) is found within the striatum ...

Western blots are designed to determine protein levels and their patterns of modification in homogenized tissue samples. Western blots are quantifiable, but unlike immunohistochemistry, the cellular integrity is lost. Both Western blots and immunohistochemistry depend on the ...

In situ hybridization, using radioactive and nonradioactive probes, is at present, a widespread technique that has been developed and improved over the past 15 yr, and has become an extremely powerful tool for the study of cellular interactions through gene expression and gene regulation. ...

Phosphorylation of protein kinases and transcription factors represents a major biological mechanism to activate those imperative intracellular effectors. Examination of such phosphorylation in response to extracellular stimulation can assess the functional part ...

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique offers a sensitive, simple, and versatile method for quantifying as little as 100 pg of target protein in mixed cell or tissue lysates. A further advantage to the protocol is the ability to process rapidly and reproducibly large numbe ...

DNA is bound by many proteins in a sequence specific manner. Electrophoretic mobility-shift assays (EMSAs), also known as gel shift assays, are designed to determine the amount and identity of proteins from a particular sample that bind to a specific DNA sequence, usually an enhancer element. T ...

The central nervous system (CNS) dopamine system plays an important role in mediating the reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse (1). In addition, dopamine receptors have been the principal target of drugs employed in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and P ...

There is an enormous initiative to establish causal relationships between brain biology (including patterns of gene expression) and behavior. Unfortunately, genetic intervention is not accomplished easily in the brain. One strategy is to engineer and deliver to the brain speciali ...

Artificial biomembrane mimetic model systems are used to characterize peptide–membrane interactions using a wide range of methods. Herein, we present the use of selected membrane model systems to investigate peptide–membrane interactions. We describe methods for the prepara ...

Macromolecular delivery systems require high target cell specificity and efficient intracellular uptake. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been shown to successfully meet these needs and should, due to their biological nature and thus minimal toxicity and limited immunogen ...

Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) are currently used to deliver various macromolecular cargos to intracellular sites of action both in vitro and in vivo on an experimental basis. During the last few years, even more evidence has accumulated indicating that the main route of entry for most CPPs is ...

Several strategies based on synthetic oligonucleotides (ON) have been proposed to control gene expression. As for most biomolecules, however, delivery has remained a major roadblock for in vivo applications. Conjugation of steric-block neutral DNA mimics such as peptide nucleic ac ...

By virtue of their potential to selectively silence oncogenic molecules in cancer cells, antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are powerful tools for development of tailored anti-cancer drugs. The clinical benefit of ASO/siRNA therapeutic is, how ...