Saika T, Kiyama H, Tohyama M, Matsunaga T
Department of Otolaryngology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.
Acta Otolaryngol Suppl. 1993;501:80-4. doi: 10.3109/00016489309126221.
By means of in situ hybridization histochemistry using an alkaline phosphatase-labelled probe, we found an increase of mRNA for the growth-associated protein GAP-43 in rat facial motoneurons following axotomy of the facial nerve. After nerve resection, the increased level of GAP-43 mRNA was maintained for at least 8 weeks, while it returned to almost undetectable levels by 8 weeks after nerve crush injury. Thus, expression of GAP-43 mRNA in motor neurons paralleled the process of axonal regeneration. However, the increase of GAP-43 mRNA after resection was more pronounced than after crushing, in this way being different from the pattern of low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor mRNA expression.
