HOMOLATERAL CEREBROCORTICAL INCREASE OF IMMEDIATE-EARLY GENE AND NEUROTRANSMITTER MESSENGER-RNAS AFTER MINIMAL CORTICAL LESION - BLOCKADE BY N-METHYL-D-ASPARTATE ANTAGONIST
O. Jacobs et al., HOMOLATERAL CEREBROCORTICAL INCREASE OF IMMEDIATE-EARLY GENE AND NEUROTRANSMITTER MESSENGER-RNAS AFTER MINIMAL CORTICAL LESION - BLOCKADE BY N-METHYL-D-ASPARTATE ANTAGONIST, Neuroscience, 59(4), 1994, pp. 827-836
A small surgical lesion of the parietal cortex induces an increase in
the expression of several messenger RNAs varying from 172 to 980% in t
he entire homolateral cerebral cortex, as detected by quantitative in
situ hybridization histochemistry. The messenger RNAs encoding the imm
ediate early genes of the leucine zipper family (c-fos, c-jun, jun-B),
the Zinc finger family (zif268), the glucocorticoid receptor family (
NGF1-B) and the interferon family (PC4) are increased within 2h after
the lesion and return to normal levels at 6h. The messenger RNAs encod
ing cholecystokinin, neuropeptide Y, somatostatin and the synthetizing
enzyme of the neurotransmitter GABA, glutamate decarboxylase, are ele
vated within one day and return to normal levels after six days. An in
traperitoneal injection of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonis
t dizocilpine maleate, 30 min before surgery, prevented either the ind
uction of immediate early gene expression or the increase of neuropept
ide and glutamate decarboxylase messenger RNA expression. This study d
emonstrates that a minimal cortical lesion induces extensive changes i
n gene expression and that the mechanism(s) leading to these changes i
nvolves the action of glutamate at the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor.
These modifications may be of importance in explaining diffuse changes
not related to neuronal circuitry in several conditions.