INDUCTION OF EARLY-RESPONSE GENES AFTER FOCAL ISCHEMIA

FOS and JUN proteins are encoded by cellular early response or immediate early genes (IEGs). They act as transcription factors and are thought to represent third or fourth messengers in an intracellular cascade of stimulus transcription coupling, which converts neuronal excitation into a complex program of cellular responses that finally results in the regulation of target gene expression. Cloning of IEGs and generation of specific antibodies to individual IEG-encoded proteins have offered tools to study gene activation in situ. Recent investigations have demonstrated IEG induction in vivo in the nervous system after a variety of physiological and pathophysiological conditions including nociception, regeneration and epilepsy. Only a few studies have dealt with molecular details of stimulus transcription coupling after ischemia. The present review summarizes what is currently known about the coordinated activation of different IEGs in the central nervous system after experimental focal ischemia.