Chung Leeyup
Dept. of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
Dev Reprod. 2015 Jun;19(2):61-7. doi: 10.12717/DR.2015.19.2.061.
The immediate early gene c-fos has long been known as a molecular marker of neural activity. The neuron's activity is transformed into intracellular calcium influx through NMDA receptors and L-type voltage sensitive calcium channels. For the transcription of c-fos, neural activity should be strong enough to activate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway which shows low calcium sensitivity. Upon translation, the auto-inhibition by Fos protein regulates basal Fos expression. The pattern of external stimuli and the valence of the stimulus to the animal change Fos signal, thus the signal reflects learning and memory aspects. Understanding the features of multiple components regulating Fos signaling is necessary for the optimal generation and interpretation of Fos signal.
即刻早期基因c-fos长期以来一直被认为是神经活动的分子标志物。神经元的活动通过N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸（NMDA）受体和L型电压敏感性钙通道转化为细胞内钙内流。对于c-fos的转录，神经活动应足够强以激活显示低钙敏感性的丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPK）信号通路。在翻译过程中，Fos蛋白的自抑制调节基础Fos表达。外部刺激的模式以及刺激对动物的效价会改变Fos信号，因此该信号反映了学习和记忆方面。了解调节Fos信号传导的多个组件的特征对于Fos信号的最佳产生和解释是必要的。
