Transcriptional Regulation by Neuronal Activity To the Nucleus and B
Regulation of gene transcription by neuronal activity is evident in a large number of neuronal processes ranging from neural development and refinement of neuronal connections to learning and response to injury. In the field of activity-dependent gene exp
- PDF / 10,256,295 Bytes
- 426 Pages / 441 x 666 pts Page_size
- 17 Downloads / 196 Views
Serena M. Dudek Editor
Transcriptional Regulation by Neuronal Activity To the Nucleus and Back
Serena M. Dudek Laboratory of Neurobiology Synaptic & Developmental Plasticity Group NIEHS/NIH Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 USA [email protected]
ISBN: 978-0-387-73608-2
e-ISBN: 978-0-387-73609-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2007937950 c 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Cover illustration: High resolution confocal projection image from region CA3 of rat hippocampus. This rat was exposed briefly and sequentially to “environment A” twice, once 30 min and the other immediately before sacrifice. The red color shows the distribution of RNA to the immediate-early gene Arc. The blue color is the nuclear counterstain DAPI. Arc mRNA can be seen in cytoplasmic and dendritic regions, and provides a marker of neuronal activation 30 min before sacrifice. In addition, two strong Arc transcription foci can be seen in the nucleus of this same neuron. The Arc transcription foci provide a marker of neuronal activation from within 2 to approximately 10 min before sacrifice. Image by John Guzowski, used with permission. Printed on acid-free paper. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com
Preface
As you read the chapters of this book, neurons in your central nervous system are undergoing significant changes at the nuclear level. Thanks to these changes, you may see, understand, and retain (at least in part) what you are reading. One of these nuclear events, transcriptional regulation, is important not only for restricting genes to expression in tissue- and cell-specific manners, but also for controlling genes in response to extracellular and/or environmental stimuli. In the unique case of excitable cells that include neurons, genes can be and are regulated by neuronal activity. Activity-mediated gene regulation may occur as a result of neurotransmitter release and subsequent post- or pre-synaptic signaling, or alternatively, it may come in the form of postsynaptic action potentials and the resulting rise in intracellular calcium or signaling at the membrane due to ion channel activation. What genes are expressed in response to neuronal activation? Screens have revealed that most of the genes can be described as falling into a few major categories: 1) those that function to generally normalize the neuronal
Data Loading...
