Premium
Excitotoxin lesion of nucleus basalis causes a specific decrease in G o mRNA in cerebral cortex
Author(s) -
Wood Helen,
de Belleroche Jacquline
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(90)81051-o
Subject(s) - nucleus basalis , lesion , endocrinology , cholinergic , medicine , cerebral cortex , carbachol , biology , alpha (finance) , pathology , cholinergic neuron , surgery , construct validity , stimulation , patient satisfaction
Lesions of the ascending cholinergic pathway from nucleus basalis are known to have profound effects on cortical function. In particular, a substantial potentiation of carbachol‐stimulated polyphosphoinositide turnover is detected from 1 day after lesion and is maintained for several days before returning to normal by 1 month. In this study the effect of this lesion was investigated on levels of three G‐protein α‐subunit mRNAs. Excitotoxin lesion of the nucleus basalis caused a selective reduction in the levels of G o α mRNA in cerebral cortex ipsilateral to the lesion, G 5 α and G i α mRNA being unaffected. The maximal effect was obtained at 3 days after lesion where levels of G o α mRNA were decreased by 40% compared to sham‐operated animals. Levels of G o α mRNA returned to normal values by 28 days. Treatment with MK‐801 caused a significant attenuation of the decrease in G o α mRNA, indicating the involvement of NMDA receptors in this response.