Selectively high expression of the transcription factor AP1 in telencephalic structures of epileptic E1 mice.

In ddY mouse brain, the transcription factors AP1 and CREB were rich in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum but relatively poor in the striatum, hypothalamus and midbrain. In contrast, the transcription factor Myc was rather poorly distributed in mouse brain under the conditions employed. Among these 3 transcription factors examined, DNA binding activities of only AP1 were invariably higher in telencephalic structures, such as the cortex, hippocampus and striatum, of the epileptic El mice than in those of parent ddY mice. These results suggest that the transcription factor AP1 may be at least in part responsible for molecular mechanisms underlying pathogenesis of a variety of abnormal symptoms observed in epileptic El mice.