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Abstract The effect of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) on synapse formation was investigated using rat cultured hippocampal neurons. Treatment with FGF-2 (0.4–10 ng/mL) for 6 days enhanced synaptogenesis on these neurons by ∼50%, as determined by counting puncta immunostained for presynaptic- or postsynaptic-specific proteins. This enhancement was statistically significant, and was abolished by a specific inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). The majority of neurons expressed FGF receptors (types 1–3) abundantly on the membrane of somata, dendrites, and growth cones, and in these regions phosphorylation of MAPK was enhanced after FGF-2 application. Furthermore, our experiments showed that the majority of synapses formed in cultures containing FGF-2 were positive both for presynaptic proteins and postsynaptic excitatory synapse-specific proteins, and that these synapses had a similar capacity to recycle the fluorescent styryl dye FM4-64 as those in the control culture. These results indicate that: (i) FGF-2 increases excitatory synapses on hippocampal neurons by activating MAPK activity through FGF receptors; and (ii) synapses formed in FGF-2-treated culture are capable of cycling vesicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been suggested that fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-I serves as a physiological satiety factor in the hypothalamus, although the molecular mechanism underlying such a function is poorly understood. To gain additional insight into this issue, we used a Sendai virus (SeV) gene expression system in rats to explore genes differentially expressed subsequent to expression of FGF-1. Using cDNA arrays, we determined that infusion of FGF-1/SeV into one lateral ventricle induced selective expression of heat shock protein (HSP) 27 in the hypothalamus. Whereas FGF-1 expression was restricted to the ependymal cell layer of the cerebral ventricles, HSP27 was more widely expressed in astrocytes residing in the surrounding periventricular region. Similarly, infusion of FGF-1 polypeptide into a lateral ventricle induced dose-dependent HSP27 expression in periventricular astrocytes surrounding the third ventricle, with maximum mRNA levels being attained 6 h after infusion. This induction of HSP27 was accompanied by a significant suppression of feeding behaviour. Interestingly, suppression of feeding caused by intracerebro-ventricular infusion of ciliary neurotrophic factor was also accompanied by induction of HSP27 in periventricular astrocytes, but suppression of feeding caused by infusion of leptin was not. It therefore appears that suppression of feeding by FGF-1 is accompanied by selective induction of HSP27 expression in hypothalamic astrocytes surrounding the third ventricle, and that this response may be a key component of the mechanism by which appetite is regulated by FGF-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used immunoblot analysis to investigate the phosphorylation of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole proprionic acid (AMPA)-receptor glutamate receptor-1 (GluR1) and related protein kinases in rat hippocampus on postnatal days (PND) 1-28. Total GluR1 expression increased up to PND 9, and stayed high thereafter. The proportions of the forms of GluR1 phosphorylated at serines (S) 845 and S831, which were both high at birth, decreased at different rates: phosphorylated S831 decreased rapidly after PND 7, and was almost zero after PND 21, while phosphorylated S845 decreased slowly, and after PND 14 stayed at one third of its PND 1 level. The expression patterns of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC), but not that of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, were similar to those of the forms of GluR1 phosphorylated at S845 and S831, respectively. Thus, the status of GluR1 phosphorylation, through PKA and PKC modulation, may contribute to the development of hippocampal synaptic plasticity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]