Genes and proteins linked to different types of alcohol use disorders could provide new therapeutic targets microbiologystudy

A team of medical researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has identified some of the genes and proteins associated with alcohol use disorders. In their project reported in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, the group studied gene expression in brain cells and compared it with data from prior studies to learn more about why consumption of alcohol impacts people differently.

Prior research and anecdotal evidence have shown that not only do people have different alcohol consumption habits, but they behave differently after consumption. In new research, the team focused only on those types of drinking behaviors that they deemed problematic, which they describe as alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Some people drink every day, they note, others just on weekends—and others go on drinking binges. After drinking, some people become happy, others sad or mean. They suspected that genetic differences account for the different types of AUDs.

The work involved first categorizing four aspects of AUD: drinks consumed per week, binge drinking, problematic drinking, and frequency of alcohol intake. Next, they looked at 6,100 genes associated with brain cells from 192 volunteers with European ancestry. They followed that up by analyzing expression traits for 7,400 proteins collected from 722 volunteers in separate studies, and summary data from patients in yet another study.

The team then used a statistical framework to identify 217 AUD associated proteins in the brain’s cortex—36 of which had not been associated with alcohol abuse before. They also found 255 AUD-associated genes with cell types that could be associated with a specific type of activity, with 37 of these genes being new.

In analyzing the proteins they had identified, the researchers found what they describe as minimal overlap between genes and the proteins they code for and the different types of AUD. They suggest this indicates that each type of AUD has different genetic factors.

The work shows that different genes and proteins are involved in various drinking behaviors. The researchers further suggest their results highlight the need for more research surrounding the genetics involved with people drinking alcohol. Findings from such studies could help lead to new treatments and strategies to reduce AUD and harmful drinking.

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