Addiction biology research on miRNAs, and their role in the pathophysiology of addiction is enabling gene therapy opportunities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moataz Dowaidar
Keyword(s):  
Addictive Behavior ◽  
Inorganic Nanoparticles ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mesoporous Silicon ◽  
Downstream Effects ◽  
Preclinical Trials ◽  
Therapeutic Development ◽  
Abused Drugs ◽  
Substance Consumption ◽  
Biology Research

This article lists known miRNAs that may be used one day to diagnose and treat addiction. Besides miRNAs associated with a particular abuse drug, miR132/212, miR124 and miR9 all have a distinct expression profile in various abuse drugs. Based on our research, these miRNAs appear to be pleiotropic, meaning they are regulated in their environment by several different variables or chemicals. Substance consumption, drug type, and the paradigm (i.e., acute vs. chronic) under which they are consumed all affect the addiction manifestation. MiRNA levels appear to change for acute and chronic use, indicating that miRNA isoforms involved in numerous abuse drugs and brain areas (e.g. let7, miR212/132) may function as regulatory hubs for addictive behavior. MiRNA strands compete with each other, work hierarchically, and some miRNA targets have stronger binding affinities than others. Future addiction biology research should focus on miRNAs, and how miRNA expression changes over time. Research investigating how miRNA's expression differs in drug intoxication and recovery should take precedence. Another topic for future research is using polydrugs. Drug studies that analyze many substances together are well known. This is of particular importance, as the presence of several abused drugs increases the likelihood of upregulating or downregulating miRNAs. If miRNAs are linked to nicotine, alcohol, marijuana and opiates, understanding their role in polydrug use is vital. We created a map to highlight miRNAs influenced by drug use in the context of synaptic plasticity pathway genes. These miRNAs and their pathways may open the door to new addictive behavior therapies.Currently, preclinical investigations using miRNAs as biomarkers or disorder therapies, but no clinical trials and only a few preclinical trials are being undertaken. Biomarkers would make it one of today's most researched areas. Research shows promise for miRNAs in rehabilitation despite several roadblocks. MiRNAs can have many downstream effects, making them challenging to use. Indeed, interesting research on circRNAs has shown that they function as a miRNA sponge, possibly limiting the effects of a particular miRNA increase. Like miRNAs, CircRNAs can produce unforeseen results. Because miRNAs' functions vary widely, absorbing miRNAs via circRNAs may hinder therapeutic development. Because of nucleases and phospholipid bilayers, distribution of miRNA to humans was challenging. Passing the delivery barriers using organic and inorganic nanoparticles like peptides, gold, mesoporous silicon, graphene oxide, and iron oxide is a popular technique. MiRNA-based lipid nanoparticles delivery vectors were found to be successful. In our future studies, the main EVs are naturally occurring, biolabeled, and targeted with little toxicity and antigenicity. EVs can pass the essential blood-brain barrier to help cure drug addiction.

scholarly journals Ketamine’s effect on inflammation and kynurenine pathway in depression: A systematic review

2021 ◽  
pp. 026988112110264
Author(s):  
Emma Kopra ◽  
Valeria Mondelli ◽  
Carmine Pariante ◽  
Naghmeh Nikkheslat
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Bipolar Depression ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Kynurenine Pathway ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Downstream Effects ◽  
Tnf Α ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Anti Inflammatory

Background: Ketamine is a novel rapid-acting antidepressant with high efficacy in treatment-resistant patients. Its exact therapeutic mechanisms of action are unclear; however, in recent years its anti-inflammatory properties and subsequent downstream effects on tryptophan (TRP) metabolism have sparked research interest. Aim: This systematic review examined the effect of ketamine on inflammatory markers and TRP–kynurenine (KYN) pathway metabolites in patients with unipolar and bipolar depression and in animal models of depression. Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO databases were searched on October 2020 (1806 to 2020). Results: Out of 807 initial results, nine human studies and 22 animal studies on rodents met the inclusion criteria. Rodent studies provided strong support for ketamine-induced decreases in pro-inflammatory cytokines, namely in interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and indicated anti-inflammatory effects on TRP metabolism, including decreases in the enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO). Clinical evidence was less robust with high heterogeneity between sample characteristics, but most experiments demonstrated decreases in peripheral inflammation including in IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. Preliminary support was also found for reduced activation of the neurotoxic arm of the KYN pathway. Conclusion: Ketamine appears to induce anti-inflammatory effects in at least a proportion of depressed patients. Suggestions for future research include investigation of markers in the central nervous system and examination of clinical relevance of inflammatory changes.

scholarly journals Inorganic nanomaterial lubricant additives for base fluids, to improve tribological performance: Recent developments

Friction ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junhai Wang ◽  
Weipeng Zhuang ◽  
Wenfeng Liang ◽  
Tingting Yan ◽  
Ting Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metal Oxides ◽  
Metallic Nanoparticles ◽  
Carbon Nanomaterials ◽  
Hexagonal Boron Nitride ◽  
Tribological Performance ◽  
Inorganic Nanoparticles ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Graphene Oxides ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Nano Additives

AbstractIn this paper, we review recent research developments regarding the tribological performances of a series of inorganic nano-additives in lubricating fluids. First, we examine several basic types of inorganic nanomaterials, including metallic nanoparticles, metal oxides, carbon nanomaterials, and “other” nanomaterials. More specifically, the metallic nanoparticles we examine include silver, copper, nickel, molybdenum, and tungsten nanoparticles; the metal oxides include CuO, ZnO, Fe3O4, TiO2, ZrO2, Al2O3, and several double-metal oxides; the carbon nanomaterials include fullerene, carbon quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, graphene, graphene oxides, graphite, and diamond; and the “other” nanomaterials include metal sulfides, rare-earth compounds, layered double hydroxides, clay minerals, hexagonal boron nitride, black phosphorus, and nanocomposites. Second, we summarize the lubrication mechanisms of these nano-additives and identify the factors affecting their tribological performance. Finally, we briefly discuss the challenges faced by inorganic nanoparticles in lubrication applications and discuss future research directions. This review offers new perspectives to improve our understanding of inorganic nano-additives in tribology, as well as several new approaches to expand their practical applications.

scholarly journals Adenosine A2AReceptors in Substance Use Disorders: A Focus on Cocaine

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Wydra ◽  
Dawid Gawliński ◽  
Kinga Gawlińska ◽  
Małgorzata Frankowska ◽  
Dasiel O. Borroto-Escuela ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Substance Use Disorders ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
D2 Receptors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Receptor Complexes ◽  
Abused Drugs ◽  
The Brain

Several psychoactive drugs can evoke substance use disorders (SUD) in humans and animals, and these include psychostimulants, opioids, cannabinoids (CB), nicotine, and alcohol. The etiology, mechanistic processes, and the therapeutic options to deal with SUD are not well understood. The common feature of all abused drugs is that they increase dopamine (DA) neurotransmission within the mesocorticolimbic circuitry of the brain followed by the activation of DA receptors. D2 receptors were proposed as important molecular targets for SUD. The findings showed that D2 receptors formed heteromeric complexes with other GPCRs, which forced the addiction research area in new directions. In this review, we updated the view on the brain D2 receptor complexes with adenosine (A)2A receptors (A2AR) and discussed the role of A2AR in different aspects of addiction phenotypes in laboratory animal procedures that permit the highly complex syndrome of human drug addiction. We presented the current knowledge on the neurochemical in vivo and ex vivo mechanisms related to cocaine use disorder (CUD) and discussed future research directions for A2AR heteromeric complexes in SUD.

scholarly journals Synchronicity of Signage

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-40
Author(s):  
Dawn Jourdan ◽  
Aparna Sundar ◽  
Flavia Igliori Gonsales ◽  
Gracie Schaefer
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Downstream Effects ◽  
Consumer Inferences

The role of synchronicity in signage is investigated in three studies. Synchronicity has been theoretically linked to solidarity or a feeling of unity. In this research, we empirically investigate the effects of depicting synchronicity in signage, using the visual principle of rhythm. Rhythm of the imagery as synchronicity in signage increases entitativity and a sense of belonging. We demonstrate key downstream effects that can be leveraged in shaping consumer inferences in community and commercial contexts. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this strategy, but only when prior perceptions of belongingness are absent. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.

The impact of varying warning color on e-cigarette advertisements: Results from an online experiment among young adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L King ◽  
Connor Simper ◽  
Jacob Razzouk ◽  
Julie W Merten
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Tobacco Use ◽  
Future Research ◽  
White Background ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Message Effectiveness ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Black Background ◽  
Downstream Effects ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Introduction Advertisement warnings are often overlooked, which reduces the opportunity for risk communication. Methods We used Prolific to survey 1,131 young adults (18-35) who currently used e-cigarettes or tobacco products. We randomized participants to one of four warning conditions: black text on white background (BW), white on black (WB), black on yellow (BY), and yellow on black (YB). We examined associations between condition and attention, recall, ad appeal, perceived message effectiveness (PME), and intentions to use e-cigarettes using chi-square and ANOVA where appropriate. We conducted logistic regressions by condition for attention and recall controlling for demographics and tobacco use. Results The warning was selected as the most attention-capturing area of the advertisement more often by those exposed to yellow warnings than white (59.9% versus 46.8%), even after controlling for demographics and tobacco use (p<.05). Recall was greater among those exposed to yellow warnings than white (44.2% vs. 37.3%), which held in controlled models. There were no significant differences between yellow and white warnings for ad appeals, PME, or intentions to use. In subanalyses, WB warnings generated higher PME (10.1 vs. 9.5) and lower intentions to use e-cigarettes (3.0 vs. 3.3) than BW (each p<.05). Conclusions Yellow warning color increases attention and recall of the warning, but this increase in attention did not translate to differences in downstream effects. Among currently mandated warning variations, the white text on black background warning appears more effective than the black on white. Future research should examine whether differences translate to behavior change. Implications We tested color variations of the FDA-mandated nicotine text warning on e-cigarette advertisements. Yellow variations (yellow text on black background and black on yellow) better captured attention and increased warning recall compared to the mandated black and white warnings. Among the FDA-mandated black on white and white on black warnings, the white on black variation appears more effective, generating higher perceived message effectiveness and lower intentions to use e-cigarettes. Given the difficulty in implementing pictorial warnings in the US, color might represent an alternative to improve warning effectiveness. Findings may also be applicable to those designing tobacco-related health communications.

The Psychology of Status Competitions within Organizations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah P. Doyle ◽  
Sijun Kim ◽  
Hee Young Kim
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Individual Outcomes ◽  
Downstream Effects ◽  
Status Seeking ◽  
Group Members

Status hierarchies, which represent how individuals stack up based on the amount of influence and respect they have relative to others, develop quickly as group members make judgments and inferences about others’ competencies or expected contributions to the group. While quick to emerge, one’s place in the hierarchy is not entirely fixed. Because occupying higher status offers a number of rewards and benefits, people vie with others to achieve the higher status positions, and seek to maintain them by engaging in behaviors that have downstream effects on group and individual outcomes. Scholars have directed increasing attention to the unique psychology associated with status seeking to understand the consequences of hierarchical competitions. This emerging body of work highlights the dual concerns (i.e., self-oriented and other-oriented concerns) inherent in the pursuit of status and offers new insights to aid our understanding of status competitions. In this chapter, the authors first review the literature that explores the mixed-motive psychology of status striving, noting the potentially beneficial and destructive behavioral outcomes that status competitions can elicit within workgroups. Next, the authors detail some of the structural, temporal, relational, and individual properties that may exacerbate people’s self-interested status concerns. The chapter concludes by discussing some of the organizational implications of this body of work and reviewing potentially rich opportunities for future research on status competitions.

scholarly journals Opium Poppy Agriculture and Consumption

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-101
Author(s):  
Joloni Ginny Anne Makovnyka
Keyword(s):  
Field Research ◽  
Opium Poppy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Agricultural Product ◽  
Cultural Meanings ◽  
Cultural Constructs ◽  
European Colonization ◽  
Substance Consumption ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

As a crop, the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, has been part of multiple human cultures since at least 5000 BCE. Its role as both food and medicine has made this plant an important traditional agricultural product. However, today research on such functions has been largely eclipsed by the narcotic use of opium and its derivatives and the  economies that stem from them. The historical uses of poppy and related cultural conceptualizations of its nutritive and medicinal aspects contrast against practices and commodification  introduced by European colonization. The commodification of the narcotic potential of the opium poppy has been used by multiple actors since the onset of globalized economic expansion as a means of attaining financial and political power. This paper draws on research compiled from academic, journalistic, and other sources to create a holistic framework for examining the complex health, social, and economic issues related to contemporary production and use of the opium poppy. This paper concludes that future research, specifically anthropological field research grounded in historical and sociopolitical contexts, can offer important insights into the lived experiences of individuals and cultures that produce, distrubute, and consume the poppy as food and medicine.  Such future research may offer critical insight into the relationship between the cultural constructs of food and medicine and the effects of narcotic substance consumption. Such research may also offer insight into the possible restructuring of cultural meanings and economies on a broader scale in order to mitigate the harmful effects of narcotic substances within foods.

scholarly journals Harnessing Lactate Metabolism for Radiosensitization

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin X. Liu ◽  
Emily Everdell ◽  
Sharmistha Pal ◽  
Daphne A. Haas-Kogan ◽  
Michael G. Milligan
Keyword(s):  
Lactate Dehydrogenase ◽  
Lipid Synthesis ◽  
Monocarboxylate Transporters ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Lactate Metabolism ◽  
Clinical Safety ◽  
Promote Cell Proliferation ◽  
Downstream Effects ◽  
Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier ◽  
Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment

Cancer cells rewire their metabolism to promote cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. Alterations in the lactate pathway have been characterized in diverse cancers, correlate with outcomes, and lead to many downstream effects, including decreasing oxidative stress, promoting an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, lipid synthesis, and building chemo- or radio-resistance. Radiotherapy is a key modality of treatment for many cancers and approximately 50% of patients with cancer will receive radiation for cure or palliation; thus, overcoming radio-resistance is important for improving outcomes. Growing research suggests that important molecular controls of the lactate pathway may serve as novel therapeutic targets and in particular, radiosensitizers. In this mini-review, we will provide an overview of lactate metabolism in cancer, discuss three important contributors to lactate metabolism (lactate dehydrogenase, monocarboxylate transporters, and mitochondrial pyruvate carrier), and present data that inhibition of these three pathways can lead to radiosensitization. Future research is needed to further understand critical regulators of lactate metabolism and explore clinical safety and efficacy of inhibitors of lactate dehydrogenase, monocarboxylate transporters, and mitochondrial pyruvate carrier alone and in combination with radiation.

Mobile Phone Addiction

2015 ◽  
pp. 640-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Leung ◽  
Jingwen Liang
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Diagnostic Criteria ◽  
Addictive Behavior ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Clear Definition ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Mobile Phone Technology ◽  
Mobile Phone Addiction ◽  
Psychosocial Perspective ◽  
Definition Of

This article reviews the literature on mobile phone addiction, the excessive use of mobile phone technology, which is an impulse control disorder with negative social and psychological consequences. It provides a clear definition of mobile phone addiction, along with its theoretical origin, diagnostic criteria for assessment, and an identification of the symptoms and consequences of addictive behavior. More importantly, it summarizes key predictors of this addictive behavior from a psychosocial perspective. The article also points out potential relationships between mobile phone addiction and other social behaviors. Finally, it discusses limitations of the assessment criteria for mobile phone addiction and makes suggestions for future research.

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