EXPRESSION OF AGRIN MESSENGER-RNA IS ALTERED FOLLOWING SEIZURES IN ADULT-RAT BRAIN

Citation
Lt. Oconnor et al., EXPRESSION OF AGRIN MESSENGER-RNA IS ALTERED FOLLOWING SEIZURES IN ADULT-RAT BRAIN, Molecular brain research, 33(2), 1995, pp. 277-287
Citations number
64
Categorie Soggetti
Neurosciences
Journal title
ISSN journal
0169328X
Volume
33
Issue
2
Year of publication
1995
Pages
277 - 287
Database
ISI
SICI code
0169-328X(1995)33:2<277:EOAMIA>2.0.ZU;2-P
Abstract
Agrin mRNA is broadly distributed throughout the adult rat brain, cons istent with its proposed role in synaptogenesis acid the organization of synaptic proteins in the central nervous system. The present study examined the effect of neuronal activity on agrin mRNA expression in a dult rat forebrain using the hilus lesion paradigm for seizure inducti on and in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction techniques for quantification and characterization of agrin mRNA content. Seizure s induced rapid, prolonged, and region-specific changes in agrin mRNA expression with the most prominent alterations occurring in hippocampa l and cortical neurons. However, there were no detectable perturbation s in the relative abundance of alternatively spliced agrin transcripts in affected brain regions. Activity-dependent changes in agrin expres sion suggest a role for this protein in modifications of synaptic stru cture associated with functional synaptic, plasticity.