Inokuchi K, Kato A, Hiraia K, Hishinuma F, Inoue M, Ozawa F
Mitsubishi Kasei Institute of Life Sciences, Tokyo, Japan.
FEBS Lett. 1996 Mar 11;382(1-2):48-52. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(96)00135-4.
We have used mRNA differential display to isolate genes that are induced by neural activity in rat hippocampus. One of these encodes activin beta A subunit. Convulsive seizure caused by kainate significantly induced the expression of activin beta A mRNA. Furthermore high frequency stimulation (HFS) of perforant pathway, which produced a persistent long-term potentiation (LTP) (>10 h), caused a marked increase at 3 h in the level of activin beta A mRNA at the dentate gyrus of urethane-anesthetized rat. The increase was NMDA receptor-dependent. By contrast the level of inhibin alpha mRNA was not changed following the induction of LTP. THe results suggest a role for activin in maintenance of neural plasticity in the adult brain.
