The long-lasting changes in synaptic connectivity that underlie long-term memory require new RNA and protein synthesis for their persistence. To elucidate the temporal pattern of gene expression that gives rise to long-lasting, learning-related neuronal plasticity, we profiled RNAs in mouse hippocampal CA3-CA1 slices following induction of late phase long-term potentiation (LTP), analyzing differential expression (DE) specifically within pyramidal excitatory neurons by Translating Ribosome Affinity Purification RNA sequencing (TRAP-seq). We detected time-dependent changes in up- and down-regulated ribosome-associated mRNAs over the two hours following LTP induction, with minimal overlap of DE transcripts between time points. TRAP-seq revealed greater numbers and amplitudes of LTP-induced changes than RNA-seq of all cell types in the hippocampus. Transcripts that were DE by TRAP-seq but not RNA-seq were enriched in mRNAs encoding cytoskeletal and cell adhesion proteins, while RNA-seq identified DE in many non-neuronal mRNAs. Together our results highlight the importance of considering both the time course and the cell-type specificity of activity-dependent gene expression during memory formation. SOURCE: Patrick Chen (pbc9@ucla.edu) - Kelsey Martin UCLA

Pluto Bioinformatics

GSE79790: Mapping Gene Expression in Excitatory Neurons During Hippocampal Late-Phase Long-term Potentiation