PMID- 23239946 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20130515 LR - 20211021 IS - 1551-4056 (Electronic) IS - 0044-0086 (Print) IS - 0044-0086 (Linking) VI - 85 IP - 4 DP - 2012 Dec TI - Regulation of BDNF expression by cocaine. PG - 437-46 AB - Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a member of the neurotrophin family of growth factors. It is expressed throughout the nervous system. A unique feature of the BDNF gene is the existence of multiple mRNA transcripts, all of which are translated into BDNF protein, suggesting a multilevel regulation of expression. In particular, the BDNF exon IV promoter region is a preferential target for epigenetic alterations, as it contains binding sites for CREB and MeCP2, two transcriptional regulators known to mediate epigenetic changes. Exposure to drugs of abuse is known to modulate epigenetic regulation of BDNF gene expression. This review will discuss how exposure to cocaine, one of the most addictive drugs known to mankind, can produce alterations in BDNF gene expression, especially in the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, which lead to alterations in the reward-mediated behaviors involved in addiction. FAU - McCarthy, Deirdre M AU - McCarthy DM AD - Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, Florida, USA. McCarthy@med.fsu.edu FAU - Brown, Amber N AU - Brown AN FAU - Bhide, Pradeep G AU - Bhide PG LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Review DEP - 20121213 PL - United States TA - Yale J Biol Med JT - The Yale journal of biology and medicine JID - 0417414 RN - 0 (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) RN - 0 (RNA, Messenger) RN - I5Y540LHVR (Cocaine) RN - VTD58H1Z2X (Dopamine) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/*genetics MH - Cocaine/*pharmacology MH - Dopamine/metabolism MH - Exons MH - Female MH - Gene Expression Regulation/*drug effects MH - Humans MH - Pregnancy MH - Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects MH - Promoter Regions, Genetic MH - RNA, Messenger/genetics MH - Rodentia MH - Transcription, Genetic PMC - PMC3516887 OTO - NOTNLM OT - BDNF OT - addiction OT - animal models OT - cocaine OT - dopamine OT - epigenetics OT - synaptic plasticity EDAT- 2012/12/15 06:00 MHDA- 2013/05/17 06:00 PMCR- 2012/12/13 CRDT- 2012/12/15 06:00 PHST- 2012/12/15 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2012/12/15 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2013/05/17 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2012/12/13 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - yjbm854437 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Yale J Biol Med. 2012 Dec;85(4):437-46. Epub 2012 Dec 13.