ABSTRACT
In this study, the effect of systemic administration of kainic acid (KA) on the expression of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor mRNA in the rat brain was investigated with in situ hybridization histochemistry. After the injection of KA in a convulsive dose (10 mg/kg i.p.), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor mRNA was reduced significantly in dentate gyrus, cerebral cortex, and caudate-putamen and moderately in CA1-CA3 areas of hippocampus and cerebellum. In dentate gyrus, the expression of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor mRNA was significantly decreased at 6 h, lowest level at 9 h, after that the expression was gradually recovered and returned to basal level at 72 h after KA injection. However, in the CA1-CA3 areas of the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and caudate-putamen, the expression of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor mRNA was abruptly decreased at 9 h and almost return to basal level at 24 h after KA injection. The significant repression of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor mRNA in cerebellum was only found at 9 h after KA injection. But significant change of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor mRNA was not found in the brains of rats treated with NMDA receptor blocker, MK-801, followed by KA injection. These observations suggest that the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor is one of the genes whose expression can be altered by KA treatment and the NMDA receptor is related with this alternation.