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Activation of an Effector Immediate‐early Gene arc by Methampetamine
Author(s) -
YAMAGATA KANATO,
SUZUKI KYOKO,
SUGIURA HIROKO,
KAWASHIMA NAOYA,
OKUYAMA SHIGERU
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb05180.x
Subject(s) - arc (geometry) , immediate early gene , meth , dopamine , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , striatum , effector , dopamine receptor d1 , neuroscience , sch 23390 , methamphetamine , neuroplasticity , receptor , dopamine receptor d2 , gene expression , endocrinology , medicine , chemistry , gene , pharmacology , genetics , organic chemistry , geometry , mathematics , monomer , acrylate , polymer
As immediate‐early genes (IEGs) are thought to play a critical role in mediating stimulus‐induced neural plasticity, IEG response induced by methamphetamine (METH) has been characterized to define the changes in gene expression that may underlie its long‐lasting behavioral effects. Although activation of several transcription factor IEGs has been described, little is known about effector IEGs. Here, we have examined whether METH administration affects expression of an effector IEG arc (activity‐regulated, cytoskeleton‐associated) that encodes a protein with homology to spectrin. Using in situ hybridization, we observed that METH caused a rapid and transient dose‐dependent increase in arc mRNA level in the striatum and cortex that was abolished by pretreatment with the specific dopamine D1 receptor antagonist SCH‐23390 but not by an atypical neuroleptic clozapine. METH induced arc mRNA in layers IV and VI of the cortex which dopamine receptor are localized to. These results suggest that D1 receptors are coupled to activation of arc gene, which may be involved in functional or structural alterations underlying neural plasticity triggered by METH.