Ethanol exposure increases expression of c-jun and junD in human neuroblastoma cells

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ethanol exposure on the expression of fos and jun genes. Exposure of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells to ethanol for 2–4 days caused a dose-dependent increase in c-jun and junD mRNA levels, whereas mRNAs for c-fos, fosB and junB were not detectable in control or ethanol-treated cells. Four days of ethanol exposure also enhanced the AP-1 binding activity. Experiments with actinomycin D demonstrated that ethanol did not influence the degradation of c-jun and junD mRNAs. These results demonstrate that long-term exposure to ethanol increases c-jun and junD expression. This effect may be one of the mechanisms through which ethanol influences the gene regulatory system in neuronal cells.