Role of Neuropeptide Tyrosine (NPY) in Ethanol Addiction

Here, an overview of neurophysiological, pharmacological and genetic research on the role of neuropeptide tyrosine (NPY) in ethanol consumption and withdrawal is presented. NPY is abundantly expressed in the extended amygdala and is critically involved in the regulation of negative affective states in rats, also is involved with neurobiological responses to ethanol and other drug of abuse. Genetic, molecular and pharmacological evidences suggest that NPY is an important neurobiological substrate for the predisposition to alcoholism. Administration, as well as the withdrawal of ethanol, alters central NPY expression. Alcohol-preferring rats exhibit basal NPY deficits in central amygdala. In the latter, NPY may rescue dependence-induced increases in anxiety and alcohol drinking. Low NPY levels in some brain regions following ethanol withdrawal contribute to the increased sensitivity to seizure and the heightened levels of anxiety characteristic of withdrawal responses. Mice with deletion of NPY gene exhibit a high-anxiety, high-alcohol-drinking phenotype. Pharmacological and genetic manipulations suggest that central NPY signaling modulates ethanol consumption via Y1, Y2, and Y5 receptors. Analysis of chromosomal regions (QTLs) associated with alcohol consumption identified NPY as one of the genes that influence alcohol dependence and as a promising target for pharmacotherapeutics to combat alcohol associated disorders. Consequently, NPY is a potentially new pharmacological target for the treatment of alcohol diseases.