C/EBP is an immediate-early gene required for the consolidation of long-term facilitation in Aplysia.
The consolidation of long-term memory requires protein and mRNA synthesis. A similar requirement has been demonstrated for learning-related synaptic plasticity in the gill-withdrawal reflex of Aplysia. The monosynaptic component of this reflex can be reconstituted in vitro, where it undergoes both short- and long-term increases in synaptic strength in response to serotonin (5-HT), a neurotransmitter released during behavioral sensitization, a simple form of learning. As with sensitization, the long-term synaptic modification is characterized by a brief consolidation period during which gene expression is required. We find that during this phase, the transcription factor Aplysia CCAAT enhancer-binding protein (ApC/EBP) is induced rapidly by 5-HT and by cAMP, even in the presence of protein synthesis inhibitors. Blocking the function of ApC/EBP blocks long-term facilitation selectively without affecting the short-term process. These data indicate that cAMP-inducible immediate-early genes have an essential role in the consolidation of stable long-term synaptic plasticity in Aplysia.
Alberini
C M
CM
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032.
Ghirardi
M
M
Metz
R
R
Kandel
E R
ER
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001048:Aplysia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D001358:Avian Sarcoma Viruses / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D017781:Genes, Immediate-Early; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000235:genetics; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*
D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D012701:Serotonin