The Journal of Neuroscience, June 1, 2003, 23(11):4760-4765
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Early Odor Preference Learning in the Rat: Bidirectional Effects of cAMP Response Element-Binding Protein (CREB) and Mutant CREB Support a Causal Role for Phosphorylated CREB
Qi Yuan,1
Carolyn W. Harley,2
Andrea Darby-King,1
Rachael L. Neve,3 and
John H. McLean1
1 Division of Basic Medical Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St.
John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1B 3V6,
2 Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's,
Newfoundland, Canada A1B 3V6, and
3 Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts
02178
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Abstract
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Early odor preference learning in rats is associated with increases of
phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) in mitral cells of the olfactory bulb. In the
present study, herpes simplex virus expressing CREB (HSV-CREB) and
dominant-negative mutant CREB (HSV-mCREB) have been injected into the bulb to
assess a causal role for CREB and pCREB in this model. Odor paired with
stroking or with the
-adrenoceptor agonist isoproterenol produces odor
approach 24 hr later. Isoproterenol-induced learning exhibits an inverted U
curve dose-dependent learning relationship with both low and high doses
failing to produce learning. pCREB increases have only been seen at the
learning effective dose.
In the present study, injection of an HSV vector expressing mutant CREB
into the olfactory bulb prevented learning induced by stroking. Control HSV
expressing LacZ was without effect. Expression of mutant CREB shifted the
doselearning curve for isoproterenol to the right such that a higher
dose was required to induce learning. Expression of CREB shifted the
dose-learning curve for isoproterenol to the left, with a lower dose now
producing learning. As expected from this shift, CREB overexpression
interfered with learning induced by stroking.
When learning occurred, with either CREB or mutant CREB, pCREB was observed
to be elevated relative to the nonlearning LacZ control groups. Unexpectedly,
with odor plus stroking in the nonlearning CREB group, the level of pCREB was
also higher than with odor plus stroking in LacZ controls that did learn.
The data demonstrate a causal role for CREB and pCREB in early mammalian
odor preference learning, reinforcing CREB as a "universal" memory
molecule. They support evidence that CREB overexpression can be deleterious
and suggest the hypothesis of an optimal pCREB window for learning.
Key words: herpes simplex virus; cAMP response element-binding protein; memory; pCREB assay; olfactory conditioning; isoproterenol
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Introduction
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Early odor preference learning offers a unique paradigm for the study of
natural mammalian learning. In the neonate rat, neural circuitry changes that
are critical for odor preference memory occur in the olfactory bulb
(Wilson and Sullivan, 1994
;
Sullivan et al., 2000
). We
suggested that a change in the first synapse, the olfactory input to mitral
cell connection, may underlie both the acquisition and expression of odor
preference (Yuan et al., 2000
,
2002
). Phosphorylation of cAMP
response element-binding protein (CREB), proposed as a universal "memory
molecule" (Silva et al.,
1998
), is significantly increased in mitral cells after olfactory
preference training (McLean et al.,
1999
). The present study asks whether phosphorylation of CREB in
the olfactory bulb can be shown to be causal in early olfactory preference
learning.
In neonate rats, a single 10 min session of tactile stimulation such as
stroking, (unconditioned stimulus) paired with an odor (conditioned stimulus),
typically peppermint, produces odor preference learning, seen as an approach
to the odor 24 hr later (Sullivan and
Leon, 1987
; Wilson and
Sullivan, 1994
). Norepinephrine (NE) released from the locus
ceruleus with tactile stimulation is known to act in the olfactory bulb via
-adrenoceptors (Wilson and Sullivan,
1994
; Langdon et al.,
1997
; Yuan et al.,
2000
). The
-adrenoceptor agonist isoproterenol can
substitute for stroking when given systemically or directly into the olfactory
bulb to induce learning (Langdon et al.,
1997
; Sullivan et al.,
2000
; Yuan et al.,
2000
). NE and serotonin (5-HT) in the olfactory bulb have been
shown to interact in early odor preference learning to promote increases in
the cAMP-mediated CREB phosphorylation
(Yuan et al., 2000
). pCREB
increases are transient and occur selectively in the peppermint-encoding area
of the mitral cell layer in the olfactory bulb after peppermint conditioning
(McLean et al., 1999
). Both
learning and increases in phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) occur when odor is
paired with a moderate dose of isoproterenol (2 mg/kg) but not with lower (1
mg/kg) or higher (4 or 6 mg/kg) doses of isoproterenol (Sullivan et al.,
1989a
,
1991
;
Langdon et al., 1997
;
Yuan et al., 2000
). The
parallel inverted U curve profiles in both isoproterenol-induced learning and
CREB phosphorylation can be shifted to the right by depleting 5-HT fibers in
the olfactory bulb (Yuan et al.,
2000
), such that a higher dose of isoproterenol is now required in
inducing learning and pCREB.
On the basis of these studies, we proposed a causal role for CREB in
neonate rat odor preference learning, but the evidence was correlational
(McLean et al., 1999
;
Yuan et al., 2000
). Here we
evaluate causality using a herpes simplex virus vector (HSV) to express
additional CREB or dominant-negative mutant CREB (mCREB) (single point
mutation at the phosphorylation site serine 133) in the neurons of rat pup
olfactory bulbs. HSV-LacZ expressing Escherichia coli
-galactosidase was used to examine the expression of HSV-encoded
proteins in the olfactory bulb and as a control to determine whether virus
injection itself would affect odor preference learning.
In the present study, we ask whether additional CREB or mutant CREB in the
olfactory bulb will alter normal odor preference learning and/or promote the
occurrence of odor preference learning when sub-optimal or supra-optimal doses
of isoproterenol are given. We also measure the levels of pCREB to assess the
link between the substrate and the transcription factor.
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Materials and Methods
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Animals
Sprague Dawley rat pups of both sexes were used in this study. Litters were
culled to 12 pups per litter on postnatal day 1 (P1) (the day of birth is
considered P0). The dams were maintained under a 12 hr light/dark cycle, with
ad libitum access to food and water. All experimental procedures were
approved by the Memorial University Institutional Animal Care Committee.
Virus vector
HSV-LacZ, HSV-CREB (overexpression of CREB), and HSV-mCREB (overexpression
of a dominant-negative mutant CREB) were used in this study with the average
titer of the recombinant virus stocks at 4.0 x 107 infectious
U/ml (for viral vector preparation, see
Carlezon et al., 1998
;
Neve and Geller, 1999
).
Virus injection
On P4, rat pups were anesthetized under hypothermia on ice and placed in a
stereotaxic frame. The skull over the central region of each olfactory bulb
was carefully removed by a dental drill. A total of 1 µl of virus per bulb
was injected at four levels from ventral to dorsal into each bulb over a 2 min
time course using a 27 gauge Hamilton syringe. Pups were warmed up and
returned to dams after recovery.
Odor conditioning
The procedure for odor conditioning for natural learning has been described
previously (Sullivan et al.,
1989b
,
1991
;
McLean et al., 1993
). Briefly,
on P6, rat pups were removed from the dam and placed on fresh bedding 10 min
before odor exposure. In the odor plus stroking (O/S) group, pups were placed
on peppermint-scented bedding (0.3 ml of peppermint per 500 ml of normal
bedding) and stroked vigorously on the hind region using a sable brush every
other 30 sec for 30 sec over a 10 min period. In the odor only (O/O) group,
the pups were only exposed to the peppermint scented-bedding without being
stroked. The naive pups were placed on fresh bedding for a 10 min period.
Immediately after these conditions, the pups were returned to the dams.
The procedure for odor conditioning using isoproterenol has been described
previously (Langdon et al.,
1997
; Yuan et al.,
2000
). Briefly, on P6, saline or (±) isoproterenol (1, 2,
or 4 mg/kg; Sigma, St. Louis, MO) was injected subcutaneously into pups 40 min
before exposure to the peppermint odor. Each pup was removed from the dam 30
min after injection and placed on fresh bedding. Ten minutes later, pups were
placed on peppermint-scented bedding for 10 min. After odor exposure, pups
were returned to their dams.
Odor preference test
On P7, pups were subjected to odor preference testing. A stainless steel
test box (30 x 20 x 18 cm) was placed on two training boxes that
were separated by a 2 cm neutral zone. One box contained fresh bedding; the
other contained peppermint-scented bedding. Each pup was removed from the dam
and placed in the neutral zone of the test box. The amount of time the pup
spent on either peppermint-scented bedding or normal bedding was recorded for
five 1 min trials. The percentage of time the pup spent on peppermint-scented
bedding over the 5 min period was calculated.
5-Bromo-4chloro-3-indolyl-
-D-galactoside
histochemistry
The LacZ marker gene produces
-galactosidase, which can be visualized
by 5-bromo-4chloro-3-indolyl-
-D-galactoside (X-gal)
histochemical staining. X-gal histochemistry was performed on the olfactory
bulbs of HSV-LacZ-injected pups. Expression of the virus has been reported to
be maximal at 24 d after injection
(Carlezon et al., 1998
). Thus,
2 or 3 d after viral injection, pups were given an overdose of sodium
pentobarbital (80 mg/kg) and perfused transcardially with an ice-cold saline
solution, followed by a fixative solution (0.5% paraformaldehyde plus 2%
glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4). Brains were
removed from the skull, postfixed in the same solution for 1 hr, and then
transferred to a 30% sucrose solution overnight.
Coronal sections (40 µm) were cut in a cryostat the next day. Sections
were mounted onto slides and air dried at room temperature. Alternate sections
were collected for X-gal staining and Nissl staining. Slides containing
olfactory bulb sections for X-gal staining were then incubated overnight with
a solution containing 3.1 mM potassium ferricyanide, 3.1
mM potassium ferrocyanide, 0.15 M NaCl, 1 mM
MgCl2, 0.01% sodium deoxycholate, 0.02% NP-40, and 0.2 mg/ml X-gal
(Invitrogen, Grand Island, NY) (dissolved in N, N'-dimethyl
formamide) in 10 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. An insoluble blue
color indicated
-galactosidase activity. After a brief rinse in PBS, all
slides were dehydrated and coverslipped with Permount (Sigma, Fair Lawn, NJ).
Possible cytoarchitectural damage attributable to virus injections was
examined in Nisslstained sections.
Nuclear cell extract and CREBpCREB assay
Pups used for the CREBpCREB assay were anesthetized with
CO2 and immediately killed by decapitation. Both olfactory bulbs
were collected immediately on dry ice and stored in microcentrifuge tubes at
-70°C. Olfactory bulb tissue was homogenized using 100 µl/sample of
buffer A containing 10 mM HEPES, pH 7.9, 1.5 mM
MgCl2, 10 mM KCl, 1 mM dithoithreitol (DTT),
1 mM PMSF, and 0.1% NP-40. The samples were incubated on ice for 15
min and then centrifuged at 1000 x g at 4°C for 10 min. The
supernatant was discarded. The pellet was resuspended in 500 µl of buffer A
without NP-40. Again, the samples were centrifuged at 1000 x g
for 10 min, and the supernatant was discarded. The pellet was resuspended in
100 µl of TransAm lysis buffer (Active Motif, Carlsbad, CA) containing DTT
and a protease inhibitor mixture. The samples were rocked at 4°C for 30
min and then centrifuged for 10 min at 14,000 x g at 4°C in
a microcentrifuge. The supernatant (nuclear extract) was collected. Protein
determination was performed by a BCA protein assay kit (Pierce, Rockford,
IL).
CREBpCREB protein content was determined using CREBpCREB
assays (Active Motif) according to the instructions of the manufacturer.
Briefly, 20 µl of sample nuclear extract containing 10 µg of total
protein was loaded into each well of a 96-well plate, which was coated by an
oligonucleotide containing a cAMP-responsive element (CRE). CREB contained in
the nuclear cell extracts binds specifically to this oligonucleotide. After
incubations in a primary antibody against CREB (1:1000) or pCREB (1:500) and
in a secondary antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase, CREBpCREB
was visualized and quantified by a colorimetric reaction and read by a
spectrophotometer at 450 nm. Forskolin-stimulated WI-38 cell extract (2.5
µg) was used as a positive control.
Experimental procedures
Expression of HSV-LacZ in the olfactory bulb and its effect on odor
preference learning. To determine whether transgenes are well expressed
in olfactory bulb neurons and whether virus injection itself affects odor
preference learning, 43 rat pups of both sexes from eight litters were divided
into six groups: two injection conditions (HSV-LacZ and saline) x three
training conditions (O/S, O/O, and naive).
X-gal histochemistry and Nissl staining were performed on the olfactory
bulbs of HSV-LacZ-injected pups after they were tested for odor
preference.
The causality of CREB in natural odor preference learning.
Eighty-seven pups from 10 litters were divided into nine groups: three
injection conditions (HSV-CREB, HSV-mCREB, and HSV-lacZ) x three
training conditions (O/S, O/O, and naive). In each litter, no more than one
pup was assigned to each group. Odor preference learning and testing were
performed as described above.
To confirm the increase of CREB expression in the olfactory bulb at the
time of learning after the viral injection, eighteen pups from three litters
were injected bilaterally into olfactory bulbs with either HSV-CREB or
HSV-LacZ on P4. On P6, the pups were killed by decapitation. Both olfactory
bulbs were collected in dry ice and stored in microcentrifuge tubes at
-70°C until a CREB assay was performed.
To test whether increased CREB substrate results in an enhanced pCREB
expression after conditioning, further delineating the effects of
CREBpCREB levels on odor preference learning, a pCREB assay was
performed on the olfactory bulbs of the rats from the O/S groups injected with
either HSV-LacZ or HSV-CREB. Eighteen pups from three litters were used in
this experiment. Previous work showed that pCREB increases maximally at 10 min
after odor conditioning (McLean et al.,
1999
). Therefore, 10 min after being taken away from the
peppermint bedding, the pups were killed by decapitation. Both olfactory bulbs
were collected for a pCREB assay.
The effects of CREB levels on isoproterenol-induced odor preference
learning. Experiments were performed to determine whether additional
wild-type CREB (by HSV-CREB injection) or dominant-negative CREB (mCREB binds
to the DNA but does not promote downstream transcription because it is not
phosphorylated) changes the sensitivity of the system to the unconditioned
stimulus. The hypothesis is that the change in sensitivity would shift the
isoproterenol-effective inverted U curve. Ninety-eight pups from nine litters
were used. Twelve groups were created in this experiment: three virus
injection conditions (HSV-lacZ, HSV-CREB, and HSV-mCREB) x four
drugsaline injection conditions (saline, 1 mg/kg isoproterenol, 2 mg/kg
isoproterenol, and 4 mg/kg isoproterenol). No more than one male or female pup
from the same litter was assigned to the same group.
CREB phosphorylation has been proposed as a critical step in the
acquisition of long-term odor preference memory
(McLean et al., 1999
). pCREB
assays were performed on the olfactory bulbs of the rats from the groups that
exhibited learning in the first set of experiments: the 1 mg/kg HSV-CREB group
or the 4 mg/kg HSV-mCREB group and their corresponding nonlearning control
groups (the 1 mg/kg HSV-LacZ and the 4 mg/kg HSV-LacZ groups). Thirty-six pups
from nine litters were used in this experiment.
Statistical analyses
Paired two-tailed t tests with litter as the matching variable
were used to evaluate two group comparisons. One-way ANOVAs were used to
assess groups of behavioral data. Post hoc comparisons using the
Dunnett's multiple comparison test had p set at < 0.05.
 |
Results
|
|---|
Expression of HSV-LacZ in the olfactory bulb and its effect on odor
preference learning
Insoluble dark blue cells were seen in all layers of the olfactory bulb
using X-gal staining 3 d after HSV-LacZ injection
(Fig. 1). The area around the
injection site was heavily stained and HSV-LacZ spread well along the
rostrocaudal axis. Control pups with saline injections did not show any X-gal
staining. Microinjection of HSV-LacZ caused minimal damage to tissue
structures evaluated by Nissl staining (data not shown).

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Figure 1. Immunohistology of -galactosidase by X-gal staining showing
expression of LacZ in many cells throughout the ol factory bulb. Labeled cells
in A are shown a thigher magnification in B. Mitral cells
are indicated by arrows. Scale bar, 50 µm.epl, External plexiform layer;
gcl, granule cell layer; gl, glomerular layer.
|
|
HSV-LacZ did not affect the animals' behavioral performance. As shown in
Figure 2, both saline-injected
(F(2,20) = 13.38; p < 0.001) and
HSV-LacZ-injected (F(2,16) = 12.34; p < 0.001)
pups demonstrated significant training effects. Post hoc Dunnett's
comparisons showed the pups subjected to stroking paired with peppermint odor
(O/S) during training spent significantly more time over peppermint odor at
the time of testing the next day compared with the naive control group
(p < 0.01).

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Figure 2. Odor preference test showing that HSV-LacZ injection itself does not affect
odor preference learning. HSV-LacZ-injected pups in the paired odor plus
stroking group demonstrate significant preference learning when compared with
those in the naive group. The same pattern applies to the saline-injected
pups. **p < 0.01.
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|
The causality of CREB in natural odor preference learning
HSV-mCREB injection prevented learning as shown in
Figure 3. HSV-mCREB-injected
animals in the O/S group did not show a preference for peppermint after
training (F(2,25) = 0.85; p = 0.44), whereas the
control littermate HSV-LacZ-injected pups showed training effects
(F(2,27) = 4.32; p < 0.05). Post hoc
comparisons showed that the O/S group learned (p < 0.05) compared
with the naive group. Interestingly, HSV-CREB injection did not improve
preference learning in the O/S group; rather, the opposite occurred
(F(2,26) = 1.22; p = 0.31). There was no
significant learning in this group. Additional CREB impaired the ability of
animals to learn the odor, suggesting that there is a window for CREB and
implying an optimal window for pCREB functioning given that pCREB is the
critical mediator for CREB pathway activation.

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Figure 3. Odor preference test showing that CREB and mCREB injections block odor
preference learning in a learning-effective paradigm (i.e., peppermint odor
paired with stroking). Both HSV-CREB-and HSV-mCREB-injected pups show
deficient odor preference learning in contrast to the HSV-LacZ control group.
*p < 0.05.
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To confirm further the increase of CREB expression at the time of learning,
a CREB assay was performed on the olfactory bulbs of the HSV-CREB-injected
pups that were killed on the day of training (2 d after HSV-CREB injection).
The HSV-CREB injection group showed a 22.9% increase in CREB expression
(Fig. 4A) in the
optical density per milligram of protein of CREB in olfactory bulb tissue
relative to that of the HSV-LacZ control group (t(8) =
4.46; p < 0.01).

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Figure 4. A, CREB assay showing that CREB in the olfactory bulb is increased
2 d after HSV-CREB injection. CREB content is presented as arbitrary optical
density (OD) per milligram of protein. **p < 0.01. B,
pCREB assay showing that pCREB is significantly increased in the olfactory
bulbs of the HSV-CREB-injected (nonlearning) group compared with those of the
HSV-LacZ (learning) group 10 min after they are subjected to odor paired with
stroking preference training on P6. pCREB content is presented as arbitrary
optical density per milligram of protein. *p< 0.05. For both
A and B, white bars indicate HSV-LacZ injections; black bars
indicate HSV-CREB injections. n = 9 for all columns.
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|
pCREB expression 10 min after O/S conditioning was measured by a pCREB
assay to test whether increasing CREB substrate increased pCREB after
learning. Figure 4B
shows that there was a significant 13.8% increase (t(8) =
2.48; p < 0.05) in the optical density per milligram of protein of
pCREB in the HSV-CREB-injected group compared with the HSV-LacZ group. This
suggests that increasing CREB substrate by HSV-CREB injection enhances pCREB
levels correspondingly and that increasing CREBpCREB beyond an optimal
level interferes with learning.
The effects of CREB levels on isoproterenol-induced odor preference
learning
Figure 5 demonstrates that
providing HSV-CREB or HSV-mCREB shifted the isoproterenol-induced learning
curve to the left or right, respectively. The control group (HSV-LacZ) shows
the typical inverted U curve learning effect of varying concentrations of
isoproterenol (F(3,23) = 9.33; p < 0.001).
Post hoc Dunnett's comparisons showed that 2 mg/kg isoproterenol
paired with odor provided significant learning compared with the saline
controls (p < 0.01), whereas the 1 or 4 mg/kg injections of
isoproterenol did not. In contrast, increasing CREB expression by HSV-CREB
injection enhanced the sensitivity of the system to the unconditioned stimulus
(F(3,36) = 3.09; p < 0.05). Post hoc
Dunnett's comparisons demonstrated that, an originally ineffective learning
dose, 1 mg/kg isoproterenol now induced significant learning when paired with
odor. No learning was seen, relative to the saline control, with either the
normally optimal dose, 2 mg/kg, or the higher dose, 4 mg/kg, of isoproterenol,
in the HSV-CREB-injected groups. Thus, CREB shifted the isoproterenol
doseresponse relationship to the left. This is consistent with the
results in the previous experiment that a critical CREBpCREB window
occurs and that too much, as well as too little, CREBpCREB can prevent
learning. Surprisingly, HSV-mCREB-injected pups developed odor preferences
(F(3,27) = 5.63; p < 0.01) when the higher
dose of isoproterenol, 4 mg/kg, was used. The 4 mg/kg group showed significant
learning when compared with the saline group (p < 0.05), whereas
the other groups did not differ from the saline control group. Thus, it
appears that mCREB shifts the inverted U curve doselearning
relationship for isoproterenol to the right.

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Figure 5. Odor preference test showing that CREB and mCREB injections shift the
isoproterenol inverted U curve to the left and right, respectively. For the
HSV-LacZ-injected control group, 2 mg/kg isoproterenol induces odor preference
learning when paired with peppermint odor, whereas a lower or higher dose does
not. In contrast, the HSV-CREB-injected group shows that a lower dose of
isoproterenol (1 mg/kg) produces learning, whereas for the HSV-mCREB-injected
group, a higher dose of isoproterenol (4 mg/kg) produces learning. *p
< 0.05; **p < 0.01. Iso, Isoproterenol.
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|
More important than the CREB increase itself is the phosphorylation of
CREB, because pCREB is the initial step for CREB activation
(Bito et al., 1996
;
Deisseroth et al., 1996
) and
the CRE-induced gene expression that underlies long-term synaptic plasticity
and memory formation (Silva et al.,
1998
). Again, we compared the pCREB levels in both learning groups
with their nonlearning controls. We were particularly interested to know
whether 4 mg/kg isoproterenol increased pCREB in HSV-mCREB-injected pups,
which would be consistent with our behavioral results. As seen in
Figure 6, we found that the
learning group, HSV-CREB plus 1 mg/kg isoproterenol, produced an 11.1%
increase in the optical density per milligram of protein of pCREB over that of
the nonlearning control group, HSV-LacZ plus 1 mg/kg isoproterenol, although
this increase was not significant (t(8) = 1.04; p
< .33). The HSV-mCREB plus 4 mg/kg isoproterenol learning group showed a
similar 11.7% increase in optical density per milligram of protein compared
with the nonlearning control group (HSV-LacZ plus 4 mg/kg isoproterenol). This
difference was significant (t(8) = 3.09; p <
0.05). Thus, both learning groups showed similar percentage increases in pCREB
compared with corresponding nonlearning groups, although only one comparison
was significant.

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Figure 6. pCREB assay showing that pCREB is increased in the olfactory bulbs of the
learning groups relative to nonlearning groups. HSV-CREB plus 1 mg/kg
isoproterenol and HSV-mCREB plus 4 mg/kg isoproterenol learning groups
demonstrate increased pCREB expression after training relative to their LacZ
control groups. pCREB content is presented by arbitrary optical density (OD)
per milligram of protein. **p < 0.01. Iso, Isoproterenol.
n = 9 for all columns.
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|
 |
Discussion
|
|---|
Natural, stroking-induced odor learning or 2 mg/kg isoproterenol-induced
odor learning was prevented by infusion of an HSV-mCREB into the olfactory
bulb. This result implicates CREB as a mediator of early odor preference
learning. Because the serine 133 site is the only one not available for
phosphorylation (Josselyn et al.,
2002
), it also suggests phosphorylation of serine 133 may be
critical in early odor preference learning.
Unexpectedly, a bi-directional effect of mCREB was observed in these
experiments. The pairing of odor and a 4 mg/kg dose of isoproterenol, which
normally does not produce learning, was a successful learning inducer if
HSV-mCREB was previously infused into the olfactory bulb. pCREB assay of this
novel effective learning condition revealed higher levels of pCREB, as seen
previously with learning, than those seen in rat pups receiving LacZ
infusions. We hypothesized previously that the failure of high doses of
isoproterenol to produce learning and/or increased pCREB might be related to
enhanced protein kinase A (PKA) activation of phosphatases
(Yuan et al., 2000
). Because
mCREB would provide a "false" target for both kinase and
phosphatase activity, it could alter the balance of enzyme activities in
infected neurons to decrease, or increase, the likelihood of pCREB expression
depending on the enzyme levels induced by training. Thus, with optimal enzyme
levels (odor plus stroking or odor plus 2 mg/kg isoproterenol), mCREB is
deleterious, but with an excess of phosphatase activity (odor plus 4 mg/kg
isoproterenol), for example, it could be beneficial.
The ability of HSV-mCREB to alter downstream transcription and behavioral
outcomes has been demonstrated previously in nucleus accumbens (Carlezon et
al., 1998
,
2000
). No effect of HSV-mCREB,
however, was seen in a previous study of long-term memory when it was infused
into the amygdala (Josselyn et al.,
2002
).
HSV-CREB infusions lowered the threshold for isoproterenol-induced odor
learning. Infusion of HSV-CREB in the olfactory bulb produced learning in rat
pups given odor plus 1 mg/kg isoproterenol, normally an ineffective pairing
for learning. The ability of CREB to lower the threshold for
isoproterenol-induced odor learning further supports our hypothesis that CREB
has a causal role in early odor preference learning. pCREB was also
significantly increased in this novel learning condition compared with rat
pups receiving HSV-LacZ infusions. The ability of HSV-CREB to alter downstream
genomic expression and behavior has been demonstrated previously in the
nucleus accumbens (Carlezon et al.,
1998
,
2000
). HSV-CREB has also been
shown to convert short-term memory to long-term memory in the amygdala,
although it did not render a weak unconditioned stimulus more effective
(Josselyn et al., 2002
) as seen
here.
A bi-directional effect of CREB appeared when HSV-CREB was infused before
normally effective learning conditions. Thus, rat pups given odor plus
stroking or odor plus 2 mg/kg isoproterenol did not learn whether HSV-CREB was
infused before training. This suggests that CREB function has a strict window
such that too much CREB interferes with normal odor preference learning in rat
pups.
Overexpression of CREB has been shown to interfere with learning in other
paradigms (Guzowski and McGaugh,
1997
). The present pattern of results is consistent with that
literature. However, here, pCREB levels were also assessed in the odor plus
stroking group given CREB infusion. This group had higher pCREB levels than
the LacZ-infused controls that successfully learned the odor preference. This
outcome supports the hypothesis of an optimal window for pCREB level in
initiating the development of odor memory. It has been shown that the duration
of pCREB activation critically influences downstream gene expression
(Bito et al., 1996
), and it has
been proposed that overactivation of CREB might lead to increased repressor
activity (Silva et al., 1998
);
however, this is the first study to demonstrate a negative effect of higher
pCREB levels on learning and memory.
CREB is a target of the cAMPPKA pathway. We showed that cAMP is
increased in the olfactory bulbs by stroking and by isoproterenol
(Yuan et al., 2003
).
Interaction of NE and 5-HT changed the cAMP expression in mitral cells. We
suggested a model of early odor preference learning in which the locus
ceruleus input activates
-adrenoceptors on mitral cells to trigger a
cAMP increase (Yuan et al.,
2003
). This increase is hypothesized to interact with calcium
currents activated by the odor input to mitral cells to enhance pCREB in those
same cells. Other evidence, however, demonstrates CREB phosphorylation at the
serine 133 site through a variety of protein kinases, including those
activated by calcium (Silva et al.,
1998
). An alternative model of odor preference learning suggests
that NE-induced disinhibition of mitral cells by granule cells
(Wilson and Sullivan, 1994
),
could enhance NMDA currents from odor input onto mitral cells. This model
would also predict pCREB increases in mitral cells. Both mechanisms are likely
to contribute to early odor preference learning.
Our data from optical imaging during memory retrieval
(Yuan et al., 2002
) and from
electrophysiological measurements of olfactory nerve-evoked potentials during
acquisition (Yuan et al.,
2000
) suggest that a critical change is the potentiation of odor
input to the mitral cells. An input potentiation model is also supported by
previous evidence of enhanced 2-DG (Woo et
al., 1987
; Johnson and Leon,
1996
) and c-Fos (Johnson et
al., 1995
) during memory retrieval. Potentiation of odor input
after appetitive olfactory conditioning has also been reported for the
honeybee (Faber et al., 1999
)
and the sheep (Kendrick et al.,
1992
).
CREB and pCREB were first shown to have causal roles in the encoding of
sensory memory in Aplysia. Using genetic tools, CREB has been shown
to be causal in olfactory learning in Drosophila. This is the first
report that CREB and pCREB have causal roles in mammalian olfactory
learning.
 |
Footnotes
|
|---|
Received Nov. 26, 2002;
revised Mar. 14, 2003;
accepted Mar. 14, 2003.
This work was supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Grant
ROP-53761) and Canadian Economic Development Agreement (Grant ARJ-4037988-1)
Regional Partnership to J.H.M. and C.W.H. Q.Y. holds a Canadian Institutes of
Health Research studentship. Special thanks to Dr. Eric Nestler for the
HSV-CREB and HSV-mCREB amplicon constructions.
Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. John H. McLean, Division of Basic
Medical Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's,
Newfoundland, Canada A1B 3V6. E-mail:
mclean{at}mun.ca.
Copyright © 2003 Society for Neuroscience
0270-6474/03/234760-06$15.00/0
 |
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