Expression of agrin mRNA is altered following seizures in adult rat brain

• Published in: Brain research. Molecular brain research. Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 277 - 287
• Main Authors: O'Connor, Lawrence T., Lauterborn, Julie C., Smith, Martin A., Gall, Christine M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.11.1995; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agrin; Agrin - biosynthesis; Alternative Splicing; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - metabolism; Cerebral Cortex - metabolism; Dentate Gyrus - metabolism; Epilepsy; Gene Expression; Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy; Hippocampus - metabolism; In Situ Hybridization; Learning and memory; Male; Medical sciences; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Neurons - metabolism; Neurons - physiology; Organ Specificity; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prosencephalon - metabolism; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; RNA, Messenger - analysis; RNA, Messenger - biosynthesis; Seizure; Seizures - metabolism; Synapse; Synapses - physiology; Synaptic plasticity; Time Factors; Learning and memory; Synapse; Agrin; Epilepsy; Synaptic plasticity; Seizure; Gene expression; Nervous system diseases; Rat; Rodentia; Central nervous system; Cerebral disorder; Vertebrata; Experimental disease; Mammalia; Animal; Central nervous system disease; Brain (vertebrata)
• ISSN: 0169-328X; 1872-6941
• DOI: 10.1016/0169-328X(95)00147-K

Agrin mRNA is broadly distributed throughout the adult rat brain, consistent with its proposed role in synaptogenesis and the organization of synaptic proteins in the central nervous system. The present study examined the effect of neuronal activity on agrin mRNA expression in adult rat forebrain using the hilus lesion paradigm for seizure induction and in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction techniques for quantification and characterization of agrin mRNA content. Seizures induced rapid, prolonged, and region-specific changes in agrin mRNA expression with the most prominent alterations occurring in hippocampal and cortical neurons. However, there were no detectable perturbations in the relative abundance of alternatively spliced agrin transcripts in affected brain regions. Activity-dependent changes in agrin expression suggest a role for this protein in modifications of synaptic structure associated with functional synaptic plasticity.