Inflammation supports the progression of alcohol-related organ injury. Recent research findings have linked ethanol exposure to changes in histone acetylation and deacetylation in the brain and in peripheral tissues, leading to ethanol-dependence related damage. One of the mechanisms that has been shown to play a major role during inflammation is the cannabinoid system. Previous research has demonstrated that ethanol can modulate cannabinoid receptors' functions. Our lab has shown that the G protein-coupled receptor (GPR55), a novel cannabinoid receptor, is upregulated in binge drinkers and in cells treated acutely with ethanol. Additionally, our group has also uncovered that chronic ethanol exposure leads to an increase in histone modifications, such as acetylation. However, the regulatory mechanism of GPR55 within the immune system under the influence of ethanol is poorly understood. Since changes in histone modifications might lead to changes in gene expression, we hypothesize that the mechanism of ethanol-induced upregulation of GPR55 is linked to epigenetic changes on histone proteins. Taking into account previous findings from our lab, the goal of the present study was to determine whether there is any relevant association between histone hyperacetylation and the regulation of the novel cannabinoid receptor GPR55 in monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDCs) of human origin treated acutely with ethanol. Therefore, monocytes were isolated from buffy coats and allowed to differentiate into MDDCs. The cells were treated with ethanol for 24 h, harvested, fixed, and stained with antibodies against GPR55. As expected, based on previous findings, confocal microscopy showed that ethanol exposure increases GPR55 expression. In order to demonstrate the correlation between histone acetylation and GPR55 expression regulation, the cells were treated with ethanol, harvested, and then the chromatin was extracted and fractionated for chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay, followed by real-time qPCR for the analysis of DNA fragments. The results showed an enrichment of the histone modification H4K12ac in the GPR55 gene of MDDCs treated with ethanol. Furthermore, siRNA against the histone acetyltransferase Tip60 (responsible for the acetylation of H4K12) resulted in a downregulation of GPR55. In conjunction, these results indicate that in the presence of ethanol, the upregulation of GPR55 expression is accompanied by H4K12 acetylation, which might have a significant effect in the ability of this innate immune system's cells to cope with cellular stress induced by ethanol. However, the causality of ethanol regulation of H4K12ac in GPR55 expression changes still lacks further elucidation; therefore, additional experimental approaches to confirm a significant causality between H4K12 acetylation and ethanol regulation of GPR55 are currently undergoing in our lab.
Keywords: Cannabinoid; Epigenetics; Ethanol; GPR55; Histone acetylation; Tip60.
Published by Elsevier Inc.