title: Differential effects of acute and chronic nicotine on Elk-1 in rat hippocampus.
abstract: Transcriptional regulation is central to the long-term effects of drugs of abuse. Activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) pathway underlies plasticity changes that accompany drug use. One target of ERK1/2 activation is the Ets-like transcription factor Elk-1. We show here that nicotine modulates Elk-1 in the rat hippocampus in a spatially and temporally specific manner. In-vitro nicotine (1 muM) activated Elk-1 in hippocampal slices. In-vivo acute nicotine (0.4 mg/kg) activated Elk-1 in the CA1 area but not in the dentate gyrus. Chronic nicotine for 14 days changed the level of total Elk-1 but not its phosphorylation state. Thus, Elk-1 regulation of transcriptional events may contribute to nicotine-induced changes in the hippocampus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, UK.
authors.forename: Saara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nuutinen
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barik
authors.forename: Ian W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wonnacott
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D050807:ets-Domain Protein Elk-1 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D050807:ets-Domain Protein Elk-1; D009538:Nicotine