Regulation of c-fos and c-jun expression in the rat supraoptic nucleus.

1. We have investigated induction of the nuclear proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-jun in the rat supraoptic nucleus (SON) during physiological stimulation. 2. Dehydration (0-24 hr) was associated with modest, but significant increases in both c-fos and c-jun mRNA at 8 hr and 16 hr as determined by Northern analysis of total RNA extracted from microdissected SON. Prior to 8 hr, and beyond 24 hr, no consistent changes in c-fos and c-jun mRNA were found. Levels of c-fos and c-jun mRNA in the hippocampus were not altered over 24 hr of dehydration. 3. Acute stimulation with hypertonic saline (1.5 M, i.p.) resulted in a marked increase in SON c-fos mRNA at 1 hr (6-fold) and 2 hr (3.5-fold). Small increases in SON c-jun mRNA were observed at these time points. Treatment with a similar volume of 0.9% saline did not elevate SON c-fos and c-jun mRNA levels. 4. Analysis of transcriptional activity with a nuclear run-on assay showed that activation of transcription appears to mediate the induction of c-fos and c-jun mRNA following acute hypertonic saline treatment. During dehydration transcriptional activation is apparent for c-jun but is not well defined for c-fos. 5. The results are discussed with reference to the hypothesis that products of c-fos and c-jun may mediate adaptive changes in hypothalamic gene expression.