Targeted epigenomic editing ameliorates adult anxiety and excessive drinking after adolescent alcohol exposure

Adolescent binge drinking is a major risk factor for psychiatric disorders later in life including alcohol use disorder. Adolescent alcohol exposure induces epigenetic reprogramming at the enhancer region of the activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) immediate-early gene, known as synaptic activity response element (SARE), and decreases expression in the amygdala of both rodents and humans. The causal role of amygdalar epigenomic regulation at SARE in adult anxiety and drinking after adolescent alcohol exposure is unknown. Here, we show that dCas9-P300 increases histone acetylation at the SARE and normalizes deficits in expression, leading to attenuation of adult anxiety and excessive alcohol drinking in a rat model of adolescent alcohol exposure. Conversely, dCas9-KRAB increases repressive histone methylation at the SARE, decreases expression, and produces anxiety and alcohol drinking in control rats. These results demonstrate that epigenomic editing in the amygdala can ameliorate adult psychopathology after adolescent alcohol exposure.