Increased expression of the mRNA for brain- and skin-type but not heart-type fatty acid binding proteins following kainic acid systemic administration in the hippocampal glia of adult rats

Increased gene expression for two species of cytosolic fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) after systemic administration of kainic acid in the rat brain was demonstrated by Northern blotting and in situ hybridization histochemical analyses. The expression of brain (B)- and skin (S)- but not heart (H)-FABP mRNAs were markedly elevated in the hippocampus at 48 h after systemic kainate treatment. The elevated expression patterns of B- and S-FABP mRNAs were quite similar to that for glial fibrillary acidic protein in the normal brain, suggesting strongly that the increased expression for B- and S-FABPs occurs in dedifferentiated and proliferated astrocytes in response to kainic acid-induced seizure.