CHRONIC ETHANOL ADMINISTRATION DECREASES BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR GENE-EXPRESSION IN THE RAT HIPPOCAMPUS

We have previously demonstrated that chronic ethanol consumption decre ases neurotrophic activity in hippocampal extracts, as assessed by a c hick dorsal root ganglia bioassay, but has no effect on hippocampal NG F mRNA or NGF protein levels, We presently report that hippocampal mRN As encoding neurotrophin-3 and basic fibroblast growth factor are also unaffected. However, in contrast, brain-derived neurotrophic factor m RNA is reliably decreased, thereby suggesting that ethanol-induced dam age of the septohippocampal system may at least partially result from an ethanol-induced decrease in hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression.