Vazdarjanova Almira, McNaughton Bruce L, Barnes Carol A, Worley Paul F, Guzowski John F
Arizona Research Laboratories, Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724-5115, USA.
J Neurosci. 2002 Dec 1;22(23):10067-71. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.22-23-10067.2002.
The transcription of the immediate-early genes Arc and Homer 1a (H1a) is dynamically regulated in response to synaptic activity; their protein products function at the postsynaptic sites of excitatory synapses. Previous studies demonstrate a role for Arc in the maintenance of long-term potentiation and in memory consolidation processes and indicate a role for H1a in modifying glutamatergic signaling pathways. Using double-label fluorescence in situ hybridization, we demonstrate that Arc and H1a RNA expression is induced strongly in the same neurons of rat hippocampus and neocortex after exploration of a novel environment. These findings support the view that novel experience activates a cell-specific genomic program and that Arc and H1a may function in concert in the structural and functional modifications of dendrites that lead to long-term changes in synaptic efficacy.
即刻早期基因Arc和荷马1a（H1a）的转录会根据突触活动而受到动态调控；它们的蛋白质产物在兴奋性突触的突触后位点发挥作用。先前的研究表明Arc在长期增强的维持和记忆巩固过程中发挥作用，并表明H1a在调节谷氨酸能信号通路中发挥作用。通过双标记荧光原位杂交，我们证明在探索新环境后，大鼠海马体和新皮层的相同神经元中Arc和H1a RNA表达被强烈诱导。这些发现支持了这样一种观点，即新的经历会激活细胞特异性基因组程序，并且Arc和H1a可能在导致突触效能长期变化的树突结构和功能修饰中协同发挥作用。
