Ornithine decarboxylase is differentially induced by kainic acid during brain development in the rat.
The induction of brain ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) as a consequence of systemic kainic acid administration was studied in the hippocampus and the olfactory cortex-amygdala area of 10-day-old rat pups and 30-day-old young rats. In pups, ODC levels were moderately increased (plus 50-80%) 4 h after kainic acid administration, coming back quickly to control levels afterwards. In young rats, instead, ODC levels were dramatically increased by 17-25-fold, 16 h after kainic acid administration and decreased towards basal levels 48-72 h after injection. The present results suggest that the process of excitotoxic ODC induction can be split in two phases: a first phase characterized by moderate induction and essentially linked to the overstimulation of brain circuits and a second phase, during which a dramatic enzyme stimulation is accompanied by the appearance of neurodegenerative pathology.
Department of Biology, University of Bologna, Italy.
E
E
Ciani
A
A
Contestabile
D000679:Amygdala / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D004790:Enzyme Induction / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000254:growth & development; D007608:Kainic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000254:growth & development; D009955:Ornithine Decarboxylase / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D009955:Ornithine Decarboxylase; D007608:Kainic Acid