Kainic acid-induced inducible cyclooxygenase and c-Jun phosphorylation in the rat hippocampal formation

inducible cyclooxygenase (COX-2) was transiently induced in the neurons thr oughout the entire hippocampus between 6 and 24 h after injection of kainic acid (KA). The induction of COX-2 correlated more closely with the inducti on of c-Jun than with that of c-Fos. Phosphorylated c-Jun was induced 6-12 h after in the CA3 pyramidal neurons, which undergo apoptosis. Almost all o f neurons with phosphorylated c-Jun were colocalized with COX-2. These resu lts suggest that COX-2 and c-Jun phosphorylation may participate in KA-indu ced neurodegeneration. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.