Expression of the core exon-junction complex factor eukaryotic initiation factor 4A3 is increased during spatial exploration and striatally-mediated learning.

Regulation of dendritically localized mRNAs offers an important means by which neurons can sculpt precise signals at synapses. Arc is one such dendritically localized mRNA, and it has been shown to contain two exon-junction complexes (EJCs) within its 3'UTR. The EJC has been postulated to regulate cytoplasmic Arc mRNA availability through translation-dependent decay and thus contribute to synaptic plasticity. Core proteins of the EJC include eIF4A3, an RNA helicase, and Magoh, which stabilizes the interaction of eIF4A3 with target mRNAs. Arc mRNA expression is activity-regulated in numerous brain regions, including the dorsal striatum and hippocampus. Therefore in this study, the in vivo expression of these core EJC components was investigated in adult Sprague-Dawley rats to determine whether there are also behaviorally regulated changes in their expression. In the present work, there was no change in the expression of Magoh mRNA following spatial exploration, a paradigm previously reported to robustly and reliably upregulate Arc mRNA expression. Interestingly, however, there were increases in eIF4A3 mRNA levels in the dorsal striatum and hippocampus following spatial exploration, similar to previous reports for Arc mRNA. Furthermore, there were activity-dependent changes in eIF4A3 protein distribution and expression within the striatum following spatial exploration. Importantly, eIF4A3 protein colocalized with Arc mRNA in vivo. Like Arc mRNA expression, eIF4A3 mRNA expression in the dorsomedial striatum, but not dorsolateral striatum or hippocampus, significantly correlated with behavioral performance on a striatally-mediated, response-reversal learning task. This study provides direct evidence that a core EJC component, eIF4A3, shows activity-dependent changes in both mRNA and protein expression in the adult mammalian brain. These findings thus further implicate eIF4A3 as a key mediator of Arc mRNA availability underlying learning and memory processes in vivo.