ArticleAddiction biology2022
The Toll-like receptor 7 agonist imiquimod increases ethanol self-administration and induces expression of Toll-like receptor related genes.
Article in Addiction biology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pro-inflammatory microglia drive escalated alcohol consumption during early abstinence.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Repeated TLR7 activation induces cell type- and brain region-specific transcriptome changes in male mice.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- INTERFERON-REGULATORY FACTOR 7: A NEUROIMMUNE ROLE FOR VAPOR-INDUCED ESCALATIONS IN ETHANOL SELF-ADMINISTRATION.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Interferon Regulatory Factors in Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease: Cell-Type Programs, Danger Signaling, and Therapeutic Opportunities.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Microglia Promote Neurodegeneration and Hyperkatifeia during Withdrawal and Abstinence from Binge Alcohol.The American journal of pathology · 2026Article
- Alcohol dependence-induced astrocyte immune activation in the nucleus accumbens.Neurobiology of disease · 2025Article
- Alcohol Dependence-Induced Astrocyte Immune Activation in the Nucleus Accumbens.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Microglia promote neurodegeneration and hyperkatifeia during withdrawal and prolonged abstinence from binge alcohol.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Development of Diphenyl-1,2,4-Oxadiazole Analogues as Allosteric Modulators of the RXFP3 Receptor: Evaluation of Importance of the N-Substituted-2-Pyrrolidone Moiety in RLX-33.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2025Article
- Severe alcohol use and COVID-19: implications for physical and mental health.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Impact of Neuroimmune System Activation by Adolescent Binge Alcohol Exposure on Adult Neurobiology.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- Toll-like receptor 7: A novel neuroimmune target to reduce excessive alcohol consumption.Neurobiology of stress · 2024Article
- Neuroactive Steroids, Toll-like Receptors, and Neuroimmune Regulation: Insights into Their Impact on Neuropsychiatric Disorders.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Alcohol, HMGB1, and Innate Immune Signaling in the Brain.Alcohol research : current reviews · 2024Review
- Epigenetic regulation of microglia and neurons by proinflammatory signaling following adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) exposure and in human AUD.Advances in drug and alcohol research · 2024Review
- Novel RXFP3 negative allosteric modulator RLX-33 reduces alcohol self-administration in rats.Journal of neurochemistry · 2023Article
- Review
- Pharmacological administration of 3α,5α-THP into the nucleus accumbens core increases 3α,5α-THP expression and reduces alcohol self-administration.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2023Article
- Toll-like receptor 3 neuroimmune signaling and behavior change: A strain comparison between Lewis and Wistar rats.Behavioural brain research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
There is growing evidence that immune signalling may be involved in both the causes and consequences of alcohol abuse. Toll-like receptor (TLR) expression is increased by alcohol consumption and is implicated in AUD, and specifically TLR7 may play an important role in ethanol consumption. We administered the TLR7-specific agonist imiquimod in male and female Long-Evans rats to determine (1) gene expression changes in brain regions involved in alcohol reinforcement, the nucleus accumbens core and anterior insular cortex, in rats with and without an alcohol history, and (2) whether TLR7 activation could modulate operant alcohol self-administration. Interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7) was dramatically increased in both sexes at both 2- and 24-h post-injection regardless of alcohol history and TLR3 and 7 gene expression was increased as well. The proinflammatory cytokine TNFα was increased 24-h post-injection in rats with an alcohol self-administration history, but this effect did not persist after four injections, suggesting molecular tolerance. Ethanol consumption was increased 24 h after imiquimod injections but did not occur until the third injection, suggesting adaptation to repeated TLR7 activation is necessary for increased drinking to occur. Notably, imiquimod reliably induced weight loss, indicating that sickness behaviour persisted across repeated injections. These findings show that TLR7 activation can modulate alcohol drinking in an operant self-administration paradigm and suggest that TLR7 and IRF7 signalling pathways may be a viable druggable target for treatment of AUD.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.