Expression of inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER) in hypothalamic magnocellular neurons.

Cyclic AMP-responsive genes are regulated both positively and negatively by a number of constitutively expressed nuclear proteins. These proteins bind to cAMP-responsive DNA elements in their target genes and they are activated by protein kinase A-mediated phosphorylation. The cAMP response element modulator gene encodes for several constitutively expressed products. However, a second intronic promoter within the gene is inducible and produces another negatively acting transcription factor, inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER). ICER shows a diurnal pattern of expression in the pineal gland, but to date it has not been noted elsewhere in the brain. Here we show expression of ICER mRNA in hypothalamic magnocellular neurons following osmotic stimulation over a time course consistent with a modulatory effect on the expression of other immediate-early genes, such as c-fos. However, since ICER was not present in magnocellular neurons during parturition, its presence is not a prerequisite for the transient expression of c-fos.