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ILAR Journal Volume 53, Issues 3-4
Epigenetics
Scientific Editor: Dana C. Dolinoy
 Changes in the epigenome induced
by the environment have been documented in diverse animal phyla, ranging from
insects to rodents to humans. These include chromatin remodeling, histone tail
modifications, and DNA methylation, and more recently the list has expanded to
encompass noncoding RNA and microRNA gene regulation (Matzke and Birchler
2005). Thus, it is increasingly recognized that exposure to chemical,
nutritional, behavioral, and physical factors alters gene expression and
affects health and disease not only through mutation of but also through
modification of the epigenome. Moreover, such exposures have been directly
linked with subsequent disease formation through deregulation of epigenetic
mechanisms. Unlike genetic mutations, these epigenetic changes are potentially
reversible, providing a unique avenue to improve human health. Consequently
research in epigenetics has increased dramatically in the last few years.
The term "epigenetics" was
popularized in the early 1940s by developmental biologist Conrad Waddington
(1940) to explain "the interactions of genes with their environment, which
bring the phenotype into being." In the 1970s, Holliday and Pugh (1975) fi rst
proposed covalent chemical DNA modifications, including methylation of
cytosine-guanine (CpG) dinucleotides, as the molecular mechanism to
explainWaddington's hypothesis. The revelations several decades later that X
inactivation in mammals and genomic imprinting are regulated by complex and
multifactorial mechanisms (Monk 1988; Willard et al. 1993) resulted in an
updated definition, describing epigenetics as heritable changes in gene
expression that occur without a change in DNA sequence, including the modification of
DNA methylation and chromatin remodeling (Wolfe and Matzke 1999). The genomics
revolution inspired the investigation of genome-wide rather than local gene analyses, and
the term "epigenomics" was coined as the study of the "effects of chromatin
structure including the higher order of chromatin folding and attachment to the
nuclear matrix, packaging of DNA around nucleosomes, covalent modifications of
histone tails (acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination), and
DNA methylation" (Murrell et al. 2005). Finally, evidence that demonstrated the
resistance of certain gene loci to methylation reprogramming during
embryogenesis revealed that epigenetic modifications can be inherited not only
mitotically but also transgenerationally (Lane et al. 2003; Morgan et al. 1999;
Rakyan et al. 2003).
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Contents:
- Introduction: The Use of Animals Models to
Advance Epigenetic Science
- Recruitment and Biological Consequences of
Histone Modification of H3K27me3 and H3K9me3
- Developmental Epigenetics of the Murine
Secondary Palate
- Sexually Selected Traits: A Fundamental
Framework for Studies on Behavioral Epigenetics
- Nutritional Epigenetics
- Epigenetic Influence of Stress and the Social
Environment
- Environmental Epigenetics and Its Implication on
Disease Risk and Health Outcomes
- Early Origins of Adult Disease: Approaches for
Investigating the Programmable Epigenome in Humans, Nonhuman Primates, and
Rodents
- Gene–Environment Interactions and Epigenetic
Pathways in Autism: The Importance of One-Carbon Metabolism
- The Human Imprintome: Regulatory Mechanisms,
Methods of Ascertainment, and Roles in Disease Susceptibility
- Cancer Epigenetics: A Brief Review
- Animal Models in Epigenetic Research:
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Considerations across the Lifespan
Recent Issues
Volume 53, Issue 2
Zebrafish Health and Husbandry
Scientific Editors: Michael Kent Zoltán Varga The scientific community is rapidly realizing
the benefits of using zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model in research related to
human health. The field was initially led by investigations in developmental
genetics, but now adult zebrafish are also extensively used as model organisms
in infectious disease and immune system function work and in the study of
aging, toxicology, oncology, and behavior.
Given the increasing importance of these
animals in biomedical research, it is essential to produce and maintain healthy
and pathogen-free adults. Both husbandry and underlying health status can
significantly affect research outcomes. Improper water quality, nutrition, and
pathogen infections can profoundly affect fecundity, growth, immunity,
neoplasia, and other responses. These in turn can distort experimental results,
an important concern with any animal model. This issue features reviews of the
major husbandry issues and diseases of importance to zebrafish in the research
setting. Contents:
- Introduction: Use of Zebrafish in Research and
Importance of Health and Husbandry
- Mycobacteriosis in Zebrafish Colonies
- Microsporidiosis in Zebrafish Research
Facilities
- Neoplasia and Neoplasm-Associated Lesions in
Laboratory Colonies of Zebrafish Emphasizing Key Influences of Diet and
Aquaculture System Design
- Documented and Potential Research Impacts of
Subclinical Diseases in Zebrafish
- Viral Diseases in Zebrafish: What is Known and
Unknown
- Fundamental Approaches to the Study of Zebrafish
Nutrition
- Zebrafish Breeding in the Laboratory Environment
- Aspects of Larval Rearing
- Zebrafish Housing Systems: A Review of Basic
Operating Principles and Considerations for Design and Functionality
- Anesthesia and Euthanasia in Zebrafish
- IACUC Issues Associated with Zebrafish
- Zebrafish Resources on the Internet
Volume 53, Issue 1
Neurobiology of Addiction-like Behaviors
Scientific Editors: Elisabeth J. Van Bockstaele
As one of society’s major public health problems, addiction poses a
tremendous threat to the health and welfare of individuals, families,
communities, and nations. Despite the significant new information that
scientists have gained over the past two decades from preclinical and clinical
studies, a great deal remains unknown about addiction-like behaviors. Even as
scientists learn more about the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction, new
categories of addictions are being defined and include addictions to
prescription medication, food, the Internet, gambling, sex, and shopping.
Scientists have gained significant insight into the neurobiological
adaptations that underlie addiction-like behaviors from convergent evidence in
the fields of neuroscience, genetics, and psychiatry. Many of the articles in
the issue deal with animal models for the study of the neurobiology of
addiction-like behaviors. The issue concludes with important recommendations
for members of institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs) as they
consider the multiple facets involved in investigations into the neurobiology
of addiction-like behaviors. Contents: - Introduction:
The Neurobiology of Addiction-like Behaviors
- Advancing Addiction Treatment: What Can We Learn
from Animal Studies?
- Influence
of Sex Differences and Gonadal Hormones on Cocaine Addiction
- Rodent
Models of Binge Eating: Are They Models of Addiction?
- Neurobiology
of Consummatory Behavior: Mechanisms Underlying Overeating and Drug Use
- Translational
Neuroimaging in Drug Addiction and Obesity
- IACUC
Considerations Specific to the Use of Animal Models in Studies on the
Neurobiology of Addictive Behaviors
Volume 52, Issue 3
Animal Models of Drug Addictions: High Hopes for Therapeutic Treatments
Scientific Editors: Kimberlei A. Richardson and Gabrielle L. McLemore
Addictions to a variety of substances both licit (e.g., alcohol, nicotine)
and illicit (e.g., marijuana, cocaine) are a pervasive national and
international social and economic challenge, accounting for as much as $600
billion annually in cumulative losses in the United States (cited in Nicholson
and Ator 2011). The treatment of addictions and addictive behaviors is thus an
important public health concern. Basic animal studies have greatly contributed
to progress in this area and will surely continue to yield significant insights
into the neuroanatomical circuitry, neurophysiological function, neurochemical
changes, and behavioral processes underlying addiction.
Current clinical neurobiological methods such as brain imaging have expanded
knowledge and provided novel insights into the most complex human
brain-behavior interactions. The science of addiction is revealing that
alterations of brain-behavioral processes can have a complex mixture of
intrinsic and extrinsic causes. A better understanding of the etiology and
brain mechanisms directly involved will provide more effective addiction
prevention and treatment approaches.
The topic is critically important and broad enough to warrant two issues, in
which experts review efforts both to understand a variety of substance
dependences and to develop therapeutic treatments for them. In this issue the
authors address addictions to alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, opiates, cocaine,
methamphetamine, and ketamine. Contents: - Introduction:
Animal Models of Drug Addiction in Support of Novel Therapeutic Strategies
- Translational Models of Interactions between Stress and Alcohol
Consumption: Strengths and Limitations
- Effects of Pre- and Neonatal Nicotine Exposure in Rodents:
Inconsistent Evidence
- Marijuana Dependence: Not Just Smoke and Mirrors
- Cracking the Molecular Code of Cocaine Addiction
- Mediating
the Effects of Drug Abuse: The Role of Narp in Synaptic Plasticity
- Changing
Mechanisms of Opiate Tolerance and Withdrawal during Early Development: Animal
Models of the Human Experience
- Opioid
Dependence and NMDA Receptors
- Nucleus Accumbens Invulnerability to Methamphetamine Neurotoxicity
- The Neurobehavioral Pharmacology of Ketamine: Implications for Drug
Abuse, Addiction, and Psychiatric Disorders
- IACUC
Perspective on Drug Addiction Research
- Workshop
Summary: Neotropical Primates in Biomedical Research
- Harmonizing Veterinary Training and Qualifications in
Laboratory Animal Medicine: A Global Perspective
Future Issue Topics*
Vol 54(3): Animal Models of Peripheral
Neuropathy
Vol 54(2): Nonhuman Primate
Genetics and Genomics
Vol 54(1): Ethical and IACUC
Considerations of Field Biology Studies
* Topics and titles are subject to change
Subscription and Ordering Information
Please note that as of January 1, 2010, lost or missing issues will be replaced at the rate of $15 per copy, subject to a $5 shipping and handling fee.
The ILAR Journal is now being published by the Oxford University Press. New subscriptions, renewals, and single issues and articles from past issues are all available at the Oxford University Press website. Get up to
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Recently Published
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Guide
for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals: Eighth Edition (2011)
This seventh update to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory
Animals integrates recently published data, scientific principles, and expert
opinion to recommend practices for the humane care and use of animals in
research, testing, and teaching. The Guide is an internationally accepted
primary reference on animal care for the scientific community. Previous
editions have served as the basis for accreditation of institutions worldwide
by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care
International. Also, use of previous editions has been required for researchers
supported by the National Institutes of Health who adhere to the Public Health
Service policy. Additions to this eighth edition of the Guide include expanded
coverage of the ethics of laboratory animal use; components of effective Animal
Care and Use Programs; new guidelines for the housing, environment, and
enrichment of terrestrial and aquatic animals; updated information on
veterinary and clinical care, and discussion of animal biosecurity.
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Animal Research in a
Global Environment (2011)
To identify and promote better understanding
of the challenges of conducting animal research across country boundaries, the
Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR) convened a workshop on Animal Research in a Global Environment:
Meeting the Challenges, drawing on the expertise and perspectives
of 200 participants from 17 countries. The public workshop featured invited
presentations and discussions that focused on new information published since
the last workshop in 2003, in part to inform the continuing development of
guidelines (including an update of the 1996 Guide for the Care and Use of
Laboratory Animals).
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Animal Models for
Assessing Countermeasures to Bioterrorism Agents (2011)
In response to a request by the Department of Defense, this
report addresses the challenges stemming from developing and testing medical
countermeasures in animal models. The report makes the principal point that a
comprehensive strategy to improve data gathering and data sharing from animal
models (or their alternatives) would significantly increase the efficiency and
productivity of research into countermeasures while improving the humane use of
laboratory animals in accordance with the principles of the Three Rs. |
 | Guidance
for the Description of Animal Research in Scientific Publications (2011)
This a short report aimed
at editors of Journals that publish animal studies. The report outlines the
information that should be included in scientific papers regarding such studies
to ensure that the studies can be replicated. Necessary information includes
conditions of housing and husbandry, genetic nomenclature, microbial status,
detailed experimental manipulations, and handling and use of pharmaceuticals. |  | International Animal Research
Regulations: Impact on Neuroscience Research (2012)
Animals are widely use in neuroscience research to explore
biological mechanisms of nervous system function, to identify the genetic basis
of disease states, and to provide models of human disorders and diseases for
the development of new treatments. To ensure the humane care and use of
animals, numerous laws, policies, and regulations are in place governing the
use of animals in research, and certain animal regulations have implications
specific to neuroscience research. This report summarizes the workshop “U.S.
and European Animal Research Regulations” convened by the Institute of Medicine
Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders, in collaboration with the
National Research Council Committee on Science, Technology, and Law, and the
Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, held in the UK on July 26-27, 2011. |
Did you know that ILAR project information is available online?
The National Academies announces meetings that are open to the public via the Current Projects System (CPS) at least 10 days before the event.
To learn more, visit the Current Projects System FAQ.
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