Reduced expression of brain cannabinoid receptor 1 (Cnr1) is coupled with an increased complementary micro-RNA (miR-26b) in a mouse model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

BACKGROUND: Prenatal alcohol exposure is known to result in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, a continuum of physiological, behavioural, and cognitive phenotypes that include increased risk for anxiety and learning-associated disorders. Prenatal alcohol exposure results in life-long disorders that may manifest in part through the induction of long-term gene expression changes, potentially maintained through epigenetic mechanisms.

FINDINGS: Here we report a decrease in the expression of Canabinoid receptor 1 (Cnr1) and an increase in the expression of the regulatory microRNA miR-26b in the brains of adult mice exposed to ethanol during neurodevelopment. Furthermore, we show that miR-26b has significant complementarity to the 3'-UTR of the Cnr1 transcript, giving it the potential to bind and reduce the level of Cnr1 expression.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings elucidate a mechanism through which some genes show long-term altered expression following prenatal alcohol exposure, leading to persistent alterations to cognitive function and behavioural phenotypes observed in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.