Induction of a physiologically active brain-derived neurotrophic factor inthe infant rat brain by peripheral administration of 4-methylcatechol

Effects of 4-methylcatechol (4MC), a known potent stimulator of nerve growt h factor (NGF) synthesis, on expression of brain-derived neurotrophic facto r (BDNF) mRNA and BDNF-like immunoreactivity (BDNF-LI) was investigated in infant rat brains. A single intraperitoneal administration of 4MC caused tr ansient increases in the levels of BDNF mRNA and BDNF-LI in neurons of the cerebral cortex from 1 to 3 h and 3 to 12 h, respectively, after the inject ion. Repetitive injections of 4MC to newborn rats (12-h intervals for 10 da ys) caused a marked and dose-dependent elevation of the level of BDNF mRNA in the whole brain besides elevating the number of cells containing calbind in D-28 and enhancing its immunoreactive intensity in the pyriform cortex a nd hippocampus. These findings demonstrate that 4MC stimulates de novo synt hesis of BDNF in the infant rat brain, resulting in acceleration of the dev elopmental expression of calbindin D-28. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.