The nitric oxide releasing agent sodium nitroprusside modulates cocaine-induced immediate early gene expression in rat brain.
The nitric oxide (NO)/cGMP pathway triggers key events in synaptic phenomena involved in learning and memory. Using in situ hybridization, the present report demonstrates that NO released by sodium nitroprusside regulates egr-1, c-fos, and junB immediate early gene expression in rat forebrain. These genes, which are rapidly and transiently induced in response to diverse extracellular stimulation, coordinate alterations in gene expression underlying neuronal plasticity. Intracerebroventricular injection of sodium nitroprusside induced immediate early gene expression, which was highest in the nucleus accumbens. On the other hand, sodium nitroprusside abolished the cocaine-induced early gene expression in the dopaminergic projection fields nucleus accumbens, caudate-putamen, and frontal cortex. Further studies are warranted to explore the potential of the NO/cGMP/cGMP-dependent protein kinase pathway to modify cocaine-related behavioral effects.
Thiriet
Nathalie
N
INSERM U-338, Centre de Neurochimie, 67084 Strasbourg, France.
Aunis
Dominique
D
Zwiller
Jean
J
D000818:Animals; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003042:Cocaine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000502:physiology; D017869:Cyclic GMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D017781:Genes, Immediate-Early / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000502:physiology*; D009599:Nitroprusside / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D011699:Putamen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D009599:Nitroprusside; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D017869:Cyclic GMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; D006152:Cyclic GMP; D003042:Cocaine