New Cell study provides new insights into gene activity and addiction mechanisms

Researchers at North Carolina State University have demonstrated that neuron-like cells derived from human stem cells can serve as models for studying addiction-related changes in the nervous system

"It's extremely difficult to study how addiction changes the brain at the cellular level in humans -- no one wants to do experiments on someone's brain," said the study's corresponding author, Albert Keung, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at North Carolina State University.

The question is how cells in our nervous system respond to drugs associated with drug abuse and addiction

"In experiments with rodents, the researchers found that when relevant neuronal cells were exposed to high levels of dopamine for extended periods of time, they became desensitized, meaning that the cells' gene activation was less responsive to dopamine.

"Our work here is the first experimental study to demonstrate genetic desensitization of human neuronal cells, specifically in response to dopamine," said Tam, a doctoral student at North Carolina State University and first author of the study

In their study, Tam and Keung exposed neuron-like cells derived from human stem cells to different levels of dopamine for different periods of time

"It's an interesting finding, but it's also a proof-of-concept study," Tam said

"For example, can higher levels of dopamine cause desensitization over a shorter period of time? Or do lower levels of dopamine cause desensitization over a longer period of time? Is there a threshold level, or is there some kind of linear relationship? How does the presence of other neurotransmitters or bioactive chemicals affect these responses?"

"These are good questions that future research could address, and we've shown that these neuron-like cells from human stem cells are a good model for doing this

Original title:

Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Medium Spiny Neuron-like Cells Exhibit Gene Desensitization