title: Absence of c-fos induction in neonatal rat brain after seizures.
abstract: Induction of the proto-oncogene c-fos is often considered to be a marker of increased neuronal activity. We have used in situ hybridization to study the pattern of c-fos expression in limbic structures following kainic acid-induced seizures during the postnatal period in the rat. Prior to postnatal day 13 (P13), seizure activity did not result in c-fos induction in any limbic structure. Between P13 and P25, a gradual increase in c-fos expression was observed in hippocampus and cortical structures. These results were corroborated by nuclear run-off transcription assay. Thus, alterations in c-fos transcription that may facilitate stimulus-transcription coupling occur during postnatal development. The possible relationship between the postnatal maturation of c-fos expression and the increase in susceptibility of specific neuronal populations to seizure-induced cell damage is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Southern California, School of Medicine, Los Angeles 90033.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Schreiber
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tocco
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Najm
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Finch
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baudry
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism*; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D016762:Genes, fos; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D007608:Kainic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012640:Seizures / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D007608:Kainic Acid