title: Regulation and function of immediate-early genes in the brain: beyond neuronal activity markers.
abstract: Long lasting forms of synaptic plasticity and long-term memory formation require new mRNA and protein synthesis. While activity-dependent expression of immediate-early genes has long been thought to account for such critical de novo macromolecular synthesis, experimental proof has been scarce until recently. During the past few decades, a growing number of genetic and molecular biological studies have started to elucidate essential roles of immediate-early genes in synaptic plasticity and cognitive functions. I here present an overview of the history and recent work on regulation and function of neuronal immediate-early genes, including Arc/arg3.1. This review provides a conceptual framework in which various immediate-early genes underlie several distinct processes required for long-term synaptic changes and memory formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurochemistry, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. okuno@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okuno
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D017781:Genes, Immediate-Early / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D023421:Models, Animal; D008954:Models, Biological; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology