Expression and regulation of the immediate-early gene product Arc in the accessory olfactory bulb after mating in male rat |
| |
Authors: | Matsuoka Masato Yamagata Kanato Sugiura Hiroko Yoshida-Matsuoka Junko Norita Masao Ichikawa Masumi |
| |
Institution: | Division of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Japan. winner@med.niigata-u.ac.jp |
| |
Abstract: | Recent studies of the accessory olfactory bulb have shown that the expression of immediate-early genes, e.g., c-fos, c-jun and egr-1, can be used as a marker of neuronal activity in response to pheromonal cues. In this study, we analyzed the expression pattern, in response to mating, of the novel immediate-early gene product Arc (an activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein). Arc is hypothesized to play a role in activity-dependent neuronal plasticity in the hippocampus. In a control group of male rats, only a small number of Arc-immunoreactive cells were observed in the accessory olfactory bulb. In a mating group, however, a marked increase in the number of Arc-immunoreactive cells was observed only in the granule cell layer of the accessory olfactory bulb. The increase in the number of Arc-immunoreactive cells after mating was similar to that observed for other immediate-early genes. However, for the mating group, the increase in Arc-positive cells was limited to the granule cell layer. Granule cells have been shown to exhibit a strong synaptic plasticity in response to pheromonal stimulation.From these findings we suggest that Arc plays an important role in neuronal plasticity in the accessory olfactory bulb. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|