Carter D A
Neuropeptide Laboratory, National University of Singapore.
Brain Res Mol Brain Res. 1992 Nov;16(1-2):111-8. doi: 10.1016/0169-328x(92)90200-u.
The products of the cellular immediate-early genes (IEGs) are thought to act as messengers in the coupling of trans-synaptic stimuli with altered neuronal gene expression. However, the manner in which neurotransmission specifies particular responses through the IEGs is undefined. In this report, mRNA and transcription analysis of a precisely-timed, physiological IEG response illustrates how an IEG signal may be organized through differential neurotransmitter receptor activation. The nocturnal pattern of IEG expression in the rat pineal gland has been shown to be differentially regulated through post-synaptic adrenergic receptors. Induction of the c-fos gene is primarily mediated through alpha 1-receptors, whereas the coordinately regulated jun-B gene exhibits dual regulation through alpha 1- and beta-receptors. A simultaneous repression of c-jun expression is partly mediated through a beta-receptor mechanism. In vitro analysis of IEGs in cultured pineal glands has confirmed the receptor-specific link between adrenergic neurotransmission and IEG induction. The pineal is a unique neuroendocrine model in which the characteristics and function of the IEG third messenger system may be defined.
细胞即早基因（IEGs）的产物被认为在跨突触刺激与神经元基因表达改变的偶联过程中充当信使。然而，神经传递通过即早基因产生特定反应的方式尚不清楚。在本报告中，对精确计时的生理性即早基因反应进行的mRNA和转录分析表明，即早基因信号可能是通过不同的神经递质受体激活来组织的。大鼠松果体中即早基因表达的夜间模式已被证明是通过突触后肾上腺素能受体进行差异调节的。c-fos基因的诱导主要通过α1受体介导，而协同调节的jun-B基因则通过α1和β受体表现出双重调节。c-jun表达的同时抑制部分是通过β受体机制介导的。对培养的松果体中即早基因的体外分析证实了肾上腺素能神经传递与即早基因诱导之间的受体特异性联系。松果体是一个独特的神经内分泌模型，在其中可以定义即早基因第三信使系统的特征和功能。
