Effects of Intermittent versus Chronic-Moderate Ethanol Administration during Adolescence in the Adult Hippocampal Phosphoproteome

Alcohol consumption during adolescence is known to cause different impairments in the hippocampus that could lead to persistent deficits in adulthood. A common pattern of alcohol use in adolescents consists of excessive and intermittent alcohol consumption over a very short period of time (binge drinking). Protein phosphorylation is a mechanism underlying memory processes and we have previously demonstrated changes in the rat hippocampal phosphoproteome after a single dose of ethanol; however, studies showing the phosphoprotein alterations in the hippocampus after repeated exposition to alcohol are limited. This study focuses on the identification of the phosphoproteins differentially regulated in the adolescent rat hippocampus after repeated ethanol administration by comparing different patterns of alcohol treatments according to dose and frequency of administration ((i) moderate dose-chronic use, (ii) low dose-intermittent use, and (iii) high dose-intermittent use). We have used a proteomic approach, including phosphoprotein enrichment by immobilized metal affinity chromatography, which revealed 21 proteins differentially affected depending on the pattern of alcohol treatment used. Many of these proteins are included in glycolysis and glucagon signaling pathways and are also involved in neurodegeneration, which could reinforce the role of metabolic alterations in the neural damage induced by repeated alcohol exposure during adolescence.