Gene expression patterns underlying the reinstatement of plasticity in the adult visual system.
The nervous system is highly sensitive to experience during early postnatal life, but this phase of heightened plasticity decreases with age. Recent studies have demonstrated that developmental-like plasticity can be reactivated in the visual cortex of adult animals through environmental or pharmacological manipulations. These findings provide a unique opportunity to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms of adult plasticity. Here we used the monocular deprivation paradigm to investigate large-scale gene expression patterns underlying the reinstatement of plasticity produced by fluoxetine in the adult rat visual cortex. We found changes, confirmed with RT-PCRs, in gene expression in different biological themes, such as chromatin structure remodelling, transcription factors, molecules involved in synaptic plasticity, extracellular matrix, and excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. Our findings reveal a key role for several molecules such as the metalloproteases Mmp2 and Mmp9 or the glycoprotein Reelin and open up new insights into the mechanisms underlying the reopening of the critical periods in the adult brain.
Neuroscience Centre, University of Helsinki, 00790 Helsinki, Finland.
Ettore
E
Tiraboschi
Ramon
R
Guirado
Dario
D
Greco
Petri
P
Auvinen
Jose Fernando
JF
Maya-Vetencourt
Lamberto
L
Maffei
Eero
E
Castrén
D000818:Animals; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000494:pharmacology; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D000091042:Reelin Protein; D012683:Sensory Deprivation / Q000502:physiology*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D005473:Fluoxetine; D000091042:Reelin Protein; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; C000717129:Reln protein, rat