QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (7) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Li, Y. X. Articles by Okuno, H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Li, Y. X. Articles by Okuno, H.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

The Journal of Neuroscience, April 15, 2001, 21(8):2738-2748

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor mRNA Induction in the Vestibulo-Olivary Network during Vestibular Compensation

Yue Xin Li¹, Takanori Hashimoto¹, Wataru Tokuyama², Yasushi Miyashita^{1, 2, 3}, and Hiroyuki Okuno²

¹ Mind Articulation Project, International Cooperative Research Project, Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Yushima, Tokyo 113-0034, Japan, ² Department of Physiology, University of Tokyo School of Medicine, Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan, and ³ National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan

Vestibular compensation, which is the behavioral recovery from vestibular dysfunction produced by unilateral labyrinthectomy (UL), is attributed to functional and structural reorganization of neural networks in the central vestibular system. To assess the possible contribution of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to this recovery process, we investigated changes in mRNA expression levels in the central vestibular system after UL. We evaluated BDNF mRNA expression levels by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and in situ hybridization. We found that BDNF mRNA is differentially induced in the medial vestibular nucleus ipsilateral to UL and in the prepositus hypoglossi and inferior olive on the contralateral side. The BDNF mRNA induction lasted for at least 24 hr and returned to the basal expression level within 72 hr after UL. In contrast to BDNF mRNA induction, the expression of an immediate-early gene, c-fos, quickly reached the maximum level at 3 hr and decreased to the basal level within 24 hr after UL. Neither BDNF or c-fos induction was observed in sham-operated animals. The persistent induction of BDNF after UL temporally corresponded to early behavioral manifestations of vestibular compensation. We further found that trkB mRNA was expressed in the central vestibular network at high levels, although its expression levels did not change over time after UL. Because BDNF is implicated in regulating synaptic structure and function, these results provide support for the hypothesis that BDNF is involved in neuronal reorganization that allows vestibular compensation.

Key words: vestibular compensation; labyrinthectomy; lesion-induced plasticity; brain-derived neurotrophic factor; trkB; quantitative RT-PCR

---

Copyright © 2001 Society for Neuroscience  0270-6474/01/2182738-11$05.00/0

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. M. Johnson, E. T. Craig, and H. H. Yeh TrkB is necessary for pruning at the climbing fibre-Purkinje cell synapse in the developing murine cerebellum J. Physiol., July 15, 2007; 582(2): 629 - 646. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help