PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Nicotine exploits COPI to foster addiction

2013-12-30
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Rita Sullivan King
news@rupress.org
212-327-8603
Rockefeller University Press
Nicotine exploits COPI to foster addiction

VIDEO: This video animation shows how nicotine acts as a chaperone for receptors called nAChRs in neurons, promoting their exit from the ER and eventually increasing their abundance at the plasma...
Click here for more information.

A study in The Journal of General Physiology helps explain how nicotine exploits the body's cellular machinery to promote addiction. The findings could lead to new therapies to help people quit smoking.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, tobacco accounts for the greatest number of preventable deaths worldwide by any single agent. Nicotine, the active ingredient of tobacco, activates receptors known as nAChRs and, remarkably, unlike most other drugs of abuse, it acts as a "pharmacological chaperone" to stabilize assembly of its receptors within the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) and increase their abundance at the cell surface (up-regulation). Up-regulation of nAChRs plays a major role in nicotine addiction and, possibly, in the decreased susceptibility of smokers to Parkinson's disease.

Receptors containing an ∝6 subunit (∝6* nAChRs) are abundant in several specific brain regions. Researchers from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena used mice expressing ∝6 labeled with a fluorescent protein to show that exposure to nicotine—at a level comparable to that in human smokers—up-regulated ∝6* nAChRs in these areas of the brain.

Unexpectedly, the researchers discovered that nicotine's ability to up-regulate ∝6* nAChRs relied on the retrograde transport of ∝6* nAChRs back from the Golgi to the ER by COPI-coated vesicles. The authors believe that Golgi–ER cycling (involving COPI vesicles) may be a common mechanism for up-regulation of other nAChRs by nicotine. Manipulation of this process could therefore help form new strategies for smoking cessation and neuroprotection against Parkinson's disease.



INFORMATION:

Henderson, B.J., et al. 2014. J. Gen. Physiol. doi:10.1085/jgp.201311102
Anand, R. 2014. J. Gen. Physiol. doi:10.1085/jgp.201311136

About The Journal of General Physiology

Founded in 1918, The Journal of General Physiology (JGP) is published by The Rockefeller University Press. All editorial decisions on manuscripts submitted are made by active scientists in conjunction with our in-house scientific editor. JGP content is posted to PubMed Central, where it is available to the public for free six months after publication. Authors retain copyright of their published works and third parties may reuse the content for non-commercial purposes under a creative commons license. For more information, please visit http://www.jgp.org.

Research reported in the press release was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New innovation by NUS researchers enhances information storage in electronics

2013-12-30
New innovation by NUS researchers enhances information storage in electronics Innovative Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory technology enables bigger and longer lasting memory in electronic systems A team of researchers from the Department of Electrical & ...

Meloidogyne mali: A new invasive plant parasitic nematode in Europe

2013-12-30
Meloidogyne mali: A new invasive plant parasitic nematode in Europe Following its recent synonymisation with Meloidogyne ulmi, a species known to parasitize elm trees in Europe, it has become clear that M. mali has been in the Netherlands for more than fifty years. Evidences ...

Alcohol leaves its mark on youngsters' DNA

2013-12-30
Alcohol leaves its mark on youngsters' DNA A preliminary study led by a UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country researcher in collaboration with the Autonomous University of Nayarit, in Mexico, indicates that weekend alcohol consumption may affect DNA This news release ...

Researchers say fructose does not impact emerging indicator for cardiovascular disease

2013-12-30
Researchers say fructose does not impact emerging indicator for cardiovascular disease However, overconsumption of calories from fructose can have substantial adverse effects on health TORONTO, Dec. 30, 2013—Fructose, the sugar often blamed for the obesity ...

Testosterone in male songbirds may enhance desire to sing but not song quality

2013-12-30
Testosterone in male songbirds may enhance desire to sing but not song quality For the male canary, the ability to sing a pitch-perfect song is critical to wooing female canaries. As the seasons change, so does song quality and frequency. The hormone testosterone ...

Study identifies potential new strategy to improve odds of corneal transplant acceptance

2013-12-30
Study identifies potential new strategy to improve odds of corneal transplant acceptance DALLAS – Dec. 30, 2013 – For the estimated 10 percent of patients whose bodies reject a corneal transplant, the odds of a second transplant succeeding ...

Plan to delist gray wolf endangers other threatened species, researchers find

2013-12-30
Plan to delist gray wolf endangers other threatened species, researchers find Scientists say proposal to end wolf protection across US disregards science, history, threats COLUMBUS, Ohio – The federal government's proposal to discontinue protection for the gray ...

Tell me your barcode, and I will tell you what palm you are

2013-12-30
Tell me your barcode, and I will tell you what palm you are Reliable and cost-effective species recognition is the dream of many scientists, and has important applications. While the use of morphological features is often uncertain, and can lead to misidentification, species ...

The value of museum collections for development of DNA barcode libraries

2013-12-30
The value of museum collections for development of DNA barcode libraries The ability to sequence the DNA of plants and animals has revolutionized many areas of biology, but the unstable character of DNA poses difficulties for sequencing specimens in museum collection ...

Museum bird DNA 'ready for use' in Naturalis Biodiversity Center

2013-12-30
Museum bird DNA 'ready for use' in Naturalis Biodiversity Center DNA barcoding is used as an effective tool for both the identification of known species and the discovery of new ones. The core idea of DNA barcoding is based on the fact that just a small ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] Nicotine exploits COPI to foster addiction