Nature 329, 441 - 442 (01 October 1987); doi:10.1038/329441a0

Kindling stimulation induces c-fos protein(s) in granule cells of the rat dentate gyrus

M. Dragunow & H. A. Robertson

Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4H7, Canada

Alterations in neuronal gene expression have been proposed to account for permanent changes in brain function such as learning and memory^1–4. In particular, it has been suggested that proto-oncogenes such as c-fos (ref. 5) may be rapidly induced in conditions that lead to neuronal plasticity and evoke permanent changes in the expression of effector genes¹. Concentrations of the c-fos proto-oncogene increase rapidly following depolarization-induced calcium influx in non-dividing neuronally differentiated PC 12 cells^2,3. Recently, the presence and induction of c-fos in the adult brain and spinal cord has been observed^6–8. Here we report that electrically-induced seizure activity, which leads to a permanent increase in the response of the brain to future seizures (kindling⁹), rapidly and transiently increases c-fos protein-like immunoreac-tivity in the nuclei of granule cells in the rat dentate gyrus. These results suggest that c-fos protein is present within the nuclei of adult mammalian neurons, and could be involved in plastic changes in the nervous system associated with seizure activity.

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