Increases in mRNA for cytoskeletal proteins in the denervated neuropil of the dentate gyrus: an in situ hybridization study using riboprobes for beta-actin and beta-tubulin.

Following destruction of entorhinal cortical (EC) input to the dentate gyrus there is an increase in protein synthesis within the denervated dendritic laminae. The present study utilized in situ hybridization to determine whether there were increases in the messenger RNAs (mRNAs) for beta-actin and beta-tubulin within the denervated neuropil of the dentate gyrus during the time of increased protein synthesis. Animals were prepared for in situ hybridization 2-21 days after a unilateral lesion of the EC. Brain sections were hybridized with either 3H or 35S-labeled riboprobes prepared from chick beta-actin and chick beta-tubulin mRNA. Analysis of light microscopic autoradiograms revealed increases in the mRNAs for beta-actin and beta-tubulin within the denervated neuropil between 6 and 8 days postlesion when compared to the intact dentate gyrus of the contralateral side. Labeling over the granule cell body layer was comparable on the two sides for both probes. Increases in both mRNAs were also observed in the scar tissue at the lesion site. These results suggest that local protein synthesis within the denervated neuropil of the dentate gyrus involves, in part, an increase in the production of actin and tubulin.