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Main Menu - Block
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- Anatomy and Histology
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy
- Electron Microscopy
- Flow Cytometry
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- Immortalized Cell Line Culture
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Note: Research in this publication was not performed at Janelia.
Abstract
Enkephalin modulates striatal function, thereby affecting motor performance and addictive behaviors. The proenkephalin gene is also used as a model to study cyclic AMP-mediated gene expression in striatal neurons. The second messenger pathway leading to proenkephalin expression demonstrates how cyclic AMP pathways are synchronized with depolarization. We show that cyclic AMP-mediated regulation of the proenkephalin gene is dependent on the activity of L-type Ca2+ channels. Inhibition of L-type Ca2+ channels blocks forskolin-mediated induction of proenkephalin. The Ca2+-activated kinase, Ca2+/calmodulin kinase, as well as the cyclic AMP-activated kinase, protein kinase A (PKA), are both necessary for the induction of the proenkephalin promoter. Similarly, both kinases are needed for the L-type Ca2+ channel-mediated induction of proenkephalin. This synchronization of second messenger pathways provides a coincidence mechanism that gates proenkephalin synthesis in striatal neurons, ensuring that levels are increased only in the presence of activated PKA and depolarization.
