Department of Neurochemistry, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
Neurosci Res. 2011 Mar;69(3):175-86. doi: 10.1016/j.neures.2010.12.007. Epub 2010 Dec 14.
Long lasting forms of synaptic plasticity and long-term memory formation require new mRNA and protein synthesis. While activity-dependent expression of immediate-early genes has long been thought to account for such critical de novo macromolecular synthesis, experimental proof has been scarce until recently. During the past few decades, a growing number of genetic and molecular biological studies have started to elucidate essential roles of immediate-early genes in synaptic plasticity and cognitive functions. I here present an overview of the history and recent work on regulation and function of neuronal immediate-early genes, including Arc/arg3.1. This review provides a conceptual framework in which various immediate-early genes underlie several distinct processes required for long-term synaptic changes and memory formation.
长时程突触可塑性和长时记忆形成需要新的 mRNA 和蛋白质合成。虽然依赖活动的即时早期基因表达长期以来被认为是这种新的大分子合成的关键，但直到最近才得到了很少的实验证据。在过去的几十年中，越来越多的遗传和分子生物学研究开始阐明即时早期基因在突触可塑性和认知功能中的重要作用。我在这里概述了神经元即时早期基因（包括 Arc/arg3.1）的调控和功能的历史和最新研究。这篇综述提供了一个概念框架，其中各种即时早期基因是长时程突触变化和记忆形成所必需的几个不同过程的基础。
