Identification and validation of central amygdala FGFR1 as a therapeutic target for alcohol use disorder using single-nucleus sequencing in rats
Estelle Barbier, Leon Höglund, Li Xu, Nihal A Salem, Elizabeth A Osterndorff-Kahanek, Riccardo Barchiesi, Antonio Lacorte, Lief E Fenno, Robert O Messing, R Dayne Mayfield, Markus Heilig · 2026
Read Identification and validation of central amygdala FGFR1 as a therapeutic target for alcohol use disorder using single-nucleus sequencing in rats by Estelle Barbier, Leon Höglund, Li Xu, Nihal A Salem, Elizabeth A Osterndorff-Kahanek, Riccardo Barchiesi, Antonio Lacorte, Lief E Fenno, Robert O Messing, R Dayne Mayfield, Markus Heilig (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13538410.txt.
Description
Estelle Barbier and co-authors hunt for drug targets in compulsive alcohol use in a 2026 rat study. Only some drinkers slide into addiction, drinking on despite punishment. Earlier work from the team tied that slide, in male rats, to a set of neurons in the central amygdala, a brain hub for threat and reward.
The team read gene activity in single nuclei from that hub. Changes clustered in a few neuron types, including the key set. Network analysis flagged a growth factor receptor, FGFR1, as a druggable driver of the altered pattern. Silencing that receptor in the key neurons cut punishment-resistant drinking. A drug that blocks the receptor, given body-wide, did the same. The receptor now stands as a candidate target.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Estelle Barbier, Leon Höglund, Li Xu, Nihal A Salem, Elizabeth A Osterndorff-Kahanek, Riccardo Barchiesi, Antonio Lacorte, Lief E Fenno, Robert O Messing, R Dayne Mayfield, Markus Heilig |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 60 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |