Abstract
Alterations in neuronal gene expression have been proposed to account for permanent changes in brain function such as learning and memory1–4. In particular, it has been suggested that proto-oncogenes such as c-fos (ref. 5) may be rapidly induced in conditions that lead to neuronal plasticity and evoke permanent changes in the expression of effector genes1. Concentrations of the c-fos proto-oncogene increase rapidly following depolarization-induced calcium influx in non-dividing neuronally differentiated PC 12 cells2,3. Recently, the presence and induction of c-fos in the adult brain and spinal cord has been observed6–8. Here we report that electrically-induced seizure activity, which leads to a permanent increase in the response of the brain to future seizures (kindling9), rapidly and transiently increases c-fos protein-like immunoreac-tivity in the nuclei of granule cells in the rat dentate gyrus. These results suggest that c-fos protein is present within the nuclei of adult mammalian neurons, and could be involved in plastic changes in the nervous system associated with seizure activity.
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Dragunow, M., Robertson, H. Kindling stimulation induces c-fos protein(s) in granule cells of the rat dentate gyrus. Nature 329, 441–442 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/329441a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/329441a0
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