Finally, in a nonhuman primate model of ethanol self-administration (Grant et al. 2008), PMA-induced production of the growth factors hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and vascular-endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from male and female rhesus macaques after 12 months of chronic ethanol exposure were inhibited (Asquith, Pasala et al. 2013). The reduced production of growth factors in this nonhuman primate model of ethanol self-administration was due to increased expression of microRNA miR-181 and miR-221, which led to reduced expression of the transcription factors, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) (Asquith, Pasala et al. 2013).
