Increased β-catenin levels in the superior frontal cortex has been reported for chronic alcoholics compared to controls (Al-Housseini et al., 2008). The findings of the present study are in agreement with these results, as suggested by the higher expression levels of genes involved in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, e.g., Akt, Cnd1, Tcf4 and Axin2 (Table 3). The results of the human and rodent studies suggest that chronic alcohol abuse is having a significant effect on a signal transduction pathway that could alter cellular function, and influence alcohol drinking and alcohol’s neurotoxic effects.
