Drunk mice sober up twice as fast after hormone injection

A hormone that helps drunk mice sober up could one day treat acute alcohol poisoning in humans.

The livers of both mice and humans produce the hormone FGF21, which is known to interact with parts of the brain. Previous research suggests that alcohol consumption is the biggest trigger for FGF21 production in humans as it reduces the appetite for alcohol and protects our liver from alcohol-induced damage. Changes in the FGF21 genes and its receptor can influence how much alcohol we consume.

Stephen Cleaver and David Mangelsdorf of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and their team were studying FGF21 when they found that mice that cannot produce the hormone take twice as long to recover from an intoxicating dose of ethanol, a form of alcohol. . in drinks compared to their FGF21-producing counterparts.

To find out more, the team gave mice with normal amounts of FGF21 an intoxicating dose of ethanol. Then the animals were injected with an additional amount of the hormone.

Compared to mice that did not receive this injection, it took half the time for these animals to wake up and get back on their feet after passing out from the ethanol. They also regained coordination faster.

“We know the importance of the liver in terms of breaking down ethanol, but here’s a whole new way that the liver sends a distress signal to the brain to mitigate the effects of intoxication,” Cleaver says.

The researchers also found that in mice, FGF21 acts on neurons in an area of ​​the brain called the locus coeruleus, which produces the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. This area controls alertness and awakening from sleep.

In humans, drinking alcohol increases the amount of norepinephrine produced by the brain. This may occur through FGF21, suggesting that its administration may also help drunk people become sober, Cleaver says.

Although further research is needed, an injection of FGF21 can be given to people who are admitted to the hospital with acute alcohol poisoning. Once the doctors were conscious and coherent, they could ask questions and treat them faster.

In another part of the experiment, FGF21 had no effect on the mice’s ability to recover from sedative drugs such as ketamine, suggesting that the hormone’s sobering effect is dependent on alcohol. “This means that there are certain neurons in this center of the brain that are likely involved in different responses to different situations,” says Mangelsdorf.

In accordance with Matthew Gillumwho is studying FGF21 at pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk in Denmark, the results deepen our growing understanding of the relationship between the hormone and alcohol use.