title: Upregulation of Npas4 protein expression by chronic administration of amphetamine in rat nucleus accumbens in vivo.
abstract: The neuronal PAS domain protein 4 (Npas4) is a transcription factor that is almost exclusively expressed in the mammalian brain. As an activity-dependent transcription factor, Npas4 regulates the transcription of discrete genes and transcriptionally controls the experience-dependent learning and memory. In this study, we explored the impact of the psychostimulant amphetamine (AMPH) on Npas4 protein expression in the rat striatum. We found that acute systemic injection of AMPH had a minimal effect on protein levels of Npas4 in the caudate putamen (CPu) and nucleus accumbens (NAc), while AMPH readily increased protein products of the immediate early gene c-Fos in these regions. In contrast, repeated administration of AMPH (5mg/kg, once daily for 5 days) triggered a significant increase in Npas4 expression in the NAc, although repeated AMPH did not alter Npas4 in the CPu. These data demonstrate that Npas4 is an AMPH-sensitive transcription factor. It is inducible selectively in the NAc in response to repeated AMPH administration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Science, School of Medicine, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA. guomi@umkc.edu
authors.forename: Ming-Lei
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Dao-Zhong
authors.initials: DZ
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Zhen-Guo
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Eugene E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Fibuch
authors.forename: Li-Min
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: John Q
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000661:Amphetamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008297:Male; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D000661:Amphetamine; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; C516513:Npas4 protein, rat