Basal expression of c‐Fos and Zif268 in the rat basal ganglia: immunohistochemical characterization of striatal Zif268‐positive neurons

Abstract

Basal expression of the protein products of the inducible immediate early genes (IEGs), c-Fos and Zif268, was investigated in five regions of the rat basal ganglia using immunohistochemistry. In particular, high basal levels of Zif268 but very low levels of c-Fos were seen in the caudate-putamen (CPu). Double immunostaining revealed that many of the constitutively expressed Zif268-positive neurons were GABAergic but very few were cholinergic or neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)-positive, and some of the Zif268-positive neurons were also immunopositive for a glutamate NMDA receptor subunit NR1 or NR2A. No regional difference between the medial and lateral parts of the CPu was observed in the cellular phenotypes of Zif268-positive neurons. Almost no basal levels of Zif268 were seen in the other four regions: the globus pallidus, entopeduncular nucleus, subthalamic nucleus and substantia nigra pars reticulata. As in the CPu, negligible levels of c-Fos were seen in these four regions. Differential expression of these two IEGs may suggest gene-specific and region-specific functions of c-Fos and Zif268 in the basal ganglia. Constitutive expression of Zif268 existing mainly in the GABAergic neurons in the CPu may at least in part be maintained by glutamatergic afferents.

Differential expression of Fos and Zif268 in the nigrostriatal system after methamphetamine administration in a rat model of Parkinson's disease

“…Constitutive levels of Zif268 were seen in the striatum, where very low levels of Fos were observed, consistent with that seen in previous studies (Ishida et al, 2000;MacGibbon et al, 1995). Constitutively expressed IEGs may perhaps be involved in control- i.p.)…”

“…(Seyfert et al, 1990). A previous report suggested that Zif268 may play a role in spontaneously maintaining the inhibitory output of GABAergic neurons in the striatum (Ishida et al, 2000). Based on the results described previously (Ishida et al, 1996;Schmidt et al, 1983), it appears that an almost complete loss of the DA content is achieved in the denervated striatum in the 6-OHDA-treated rats in the present study.…”

“…$$ P < 0.01 in comparison to each value in the corresponding ipsilateral (left side) portion of the same group (two-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett's t-test). ling housekeeping genes stimulated by tonic messengers, such as glutamate through NMDA receptors (Ishida et al, 2000). The genes activated basally may include those genes that sustain neuronal cell function and viability, while the novel messengers arriving at the cell surface, which rapidly and transiently activate IEGs, work to modulate the transcriptional activity of other genes that change the phenotype of the cell depending on the information carried by the messenger.…”

“…The transcriptional activity of the Fos family of molecules is dependent upon them forming heterodimers, using a leucine-zipper motif, with the Jun family of transcription factors (Kerpolla and Curran, 1991), whereas, members of the Krox family of transcription factors bind to DNA using a zinc-finger motif (Lemaire et al, 1988(Lemaire et al, , 1990. Regional difference among five regions [caudate-putamen (CPu), globus pallidus (GP), entopeduncular nucleus, subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr)] of the basal ganglia are observed in the basal expression of Zif268, and constitutive expression of Zif268 occurring mainly in the GABAergic neurons in the CPu may at least in part be maintained by glutamatergic afferents (Ishida et al, 2000).…”

Region- and Layer-Specific Activation of the Higher Order Auditory Cortex Te2 after Remote Retrieval of Fear or Appetitive Memories

“…Different types of interneurons and pyramidal cells have been detected in the sensory cortex and may be differentially recruited by emotionally-laden experiences. zif268 expression has been detected in both glutamatergic and GABAergic cells in several brain structures (Ishida et al 2000). Therefore, further studies are needed to better characterize the neuronal populations engaged in the different layers during fearand/or appetitive memory processes.…”