The overexpression of GDNF in nucleus accumbens suppresses alcohol-seeking behavior in group-housed C57Bl/6J female mice

Background Craving for alcohol, in other words powerful desire to drink after withdrawal, is an important contributor to the development and maintenance of alcoholism. Here, we studied the role of GDNF (glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor) and BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) on alcohol-seeking behavior in group-housed female mice. Methods We modeled alcohol-seeking behavior in C57Bl/6J female mice. The behavioral experiments in group-housed female mice were performed in an automated IntelliCage system. We conducted RT-qPCR analysis of Gdnf , Bdnf , Manf and Cdnf expression in different areas of the female mouse brain after alcohol drinking conditioning. We injected an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector expressing human GDNF or BDNF in mouse nucleus accumbens (NAc) after ten days of alcohol drinking conditioning and assessed alcohol-seeking behavior. Behavioral data were analyzed by two-way repeated-measures ANOVA, and statistically significant effects were followed by Bonferroni’s post hoc test. The student’s t-test was used to analyze qPCR data. Results The RT-qPCR data showed that Gdnf mRNA level in NAc was more than four times higher (p < 0.0001) in the mice from the sweetened alcohol group compared to the water group. Our data showed a more than a two-fold decrease in Manf mRNA (p = 0.04) and Cdnf mRNA (p = 0.02) levels in the hippocampus and Manf mRNA in the VTA (p = 0.04) after alcohol consumption. Two-fold endogenous overexpression of Gdnf mRNA and lack of CDNF did not affect alcohol-seeking behavior. The AVV-GDNF overexpression in nucleus accumbens suppressed alcohol-seeking behavior while overexpression of BDNF did not. Conclusions The effect of increased endogenous Gdnf mRNA level in female mice upon alcohol drinking has remained unknown. Our data suggest that an increase in endogenous GDNF expression upon alcohol drinking occurs in response to the activation of another mesolimbic reward pathway participant.