For NP rats, more proteins were increased than decreased by ethanol in the ‘ATP-binding’, ‘GTP-binding’, and ‘DNA-binding’ categories (Table 4). Similar changes were not observed for P and W rats. The ATP- and GTP-binding categories contain proteins that are involved in intracellular signaling pathways and membrane excitability, suggesting an enhancement of these processes in the NP rat following ethanol treatment. These changes are compatible with increased synaptic function. The higher expression levels of histones in the ‘DNA-binding’ category are consistent with enhanced protein expression levels in the other GO categories for the ACB-shell of NP rats. Overall, these changes in protein expression that occurred in the ACB-shell in NP rats, as a result of ethanol injections (Tables 3 and 4), could reflect alterations associated with initial exposures to ethanol that could contribute to the low alcohol drinking characteristics of this line.
