Korean J Anat.  2001 Feb;34(1):13-21.

Signal Transduction of Ras-like GTPase Activation in the Nervous System

• Kim DH
• Park JK
• Bae KW
• Park HT

Abstract

Synaptic plasticity has been thought to be a mechanism of synaptic maturation, learning and memory. In this study, the possible involvement of Rac, RhoA, proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (PYK2) and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in the synaptic plasticity was investigated using PC12 cells and rat brains. The followings are the results. 1. Depolarization induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation but did not activate Rac and RhoA in PC12 cells. 2. ERK activation and c-fos expression were observed after electroconvulsive shock (ECS) but the activity of Rac and RhoA was not changed following ECS. 3. PYK2 not FAK activation was observed after ECS. 4. The activity of PYK2 was increased with postnatal development but that of FAK was decreased with ages. 5. The expression of Rac and PYK2 was clearly observed in the postsynaptic density but that of RhoA and FAK was not. These findings indicate that PYK2 seems to play an important role in activity-dependent synaptic plasticity in vivo brain.

Keyword

Synaptic plasticity; Rac; Rho; Proline-rich tyrosine kinase; Focal adhesion kinase

MeSH Terms

Animals
Brain
Electroshock
Focal Adhesion Kinase 2
Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
GTP Phosphohydrolases*
Learning
Memory
Nervous System*
PC12 Cells
Phosphotransferases
Plastics
Post-Synaptic Density
Rats
Signal Transduction*
Focal Adhesion Kinase 2
Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
GTP Phosphohydrolases
Phosphotransferases
Plastics