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The role of epigenetic mechanisms in opiate dependence
Hronová, Anna ; Novotný, Jiří (advisor) ; Netolický, Jakub (referee)
Addiction and tolerance develop with the chronic use of opioids. Opioid drug abuse has social, economic and health consequences. The most commonly abused opioid drug is heroin, but so is morphine, which is used in medicine as an analgesic. Drug dependence includes potentially long-term behavioural abnormalities that are induced by repeated use of opioid drugs. The persistence of behavioural chan- ges suggests that there are long-term changes in gene expression. Research has shown the crucial role of epigenetic mechanisms in managing long-term changes in gene expression. Studies have revealed increased levels of permissive histone acetylation, decreased levels of repressive histone methylation, and changes in DNA methylation patterns and non-coding RNA expression. Within the action of opioids, these epigenetic modifications are limited to the mesolimbic and limbic systems, which play a role in the processing of emotions, motivation or reward. There is still much work to be done in the field of research into the influence of epigenetic mechanisms in opiate dependence. However, research to date has significantly shifted the understanding of how opioids cause permanent changes in brain function with their results and findings.
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