Induction of c-fos mRNA expression in an in vitro hippocampal slice model of adult rats after kainate but not gamma-aminobutyric acid or bicuculline treatment.

Levels of gene expression following in vitro treatment of rat hippocampal slices with kainate, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), or bicuculline were measured by the reverse transcription-coupled polymerase chain reaction method. Following a short-term exposure to kainate, c-fos gene expression was induced by 12-fold in the adult, but not the newborn, hippocampus. Under the same experimental conditions, zifl268 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene expression were unchanged. Our results also demonstrate a lack of induction of c-fos, zifl268 and BDNF after short-time treatment of either adult or newborn hippocampal slices with GABA or bicuculline. The relevance of the differential induction of gene expression in the adult and newborn in an in vitro hippocampal slice model as compared to previously described in vivo models is discussed.