Glucocorticoids and the expression of mRNAs for neurotrophins, their receptors and GAP-43 in the rat hippocampus.

The genes encoding brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) are all expressed in the adult rat hippocampus. The colocalization of the these factors with the receptors to which they bind, namely trkB, trkC and the bFGF receptor, respectively, suggests that in the hippocampus they may exert their putative protective and trophic effects through an autocrine mechanism. The morphology and survival of hippocampal neurons are also affected by glucocorticoids, which can act as transcriptional activators of gene expression. In this study we have used in situ hybridization to investigate the adrenal steroid regulation of the mRNAs encoding the neurotrophic factors BDNF, NT-3, and bFGF, their respective receptors, and the growth-associated protein GAP-43. After 7 days of adrenalectomy (ADX), there was an increase in the level of GAP-43 mRNA expression in the CA1 and CA3 pyramidal cell layers of the hippocampus, that was prevented by corticosterone replacement to the ADX animals. In the CA2 subregion, adrenalectomy resulted in a decrease in bFGF mRNA expression, that was reversed by steroid treatment. There was evidence for glucocorticoid modulation of the BDNF and NT-3 mRNAs in pyramidal cell layers and in the dentate gyrus, but not of the mRNAs encoding the trkB, trk C or bFGF receptors.