A dramatic and specific induction of c-fos was observed in identifiable neuronal populations in vivo after administration of the convulsant Metrazole. This effect was time- and dose-dependent and was abolished by prior treatment with the anticonvulsant drugs diazepam or pentobarbital. About 60 minutes after administration of Metrazole, c-fos messenger RNA reached a maximum and declined to basal levels after 180 minutes. A further decrease below that in normal brain was observed before a return to basal levels after 16 hours. While Metrazole still elicited seizures during this period, reinduction of c-fos was largely refractory. At 90 minutes, c-fos protein was observed in the nuclei of neurons in the dentate gyrus, and in the pyriform and cingulate cortices. Subsequently, c-fos protein appeared throughout the cortex, hippocampus, and limbic system. Thus, seizure activity results in increased c-fos gene expression in particular subsets of neurons.

No abstract

A set of proteins antigenically related to the c-fos protein (Fos) are induced by serum in fibroblasts. To isolate cDNA clones of genes encoding such proteins, a Agtll expression cDNA library constructed from serumstimulated rat fibroblasts was screened with antibodies raised against a hydrophilic region (amino acids 127 to 152) of Fos. One of the positive clones identified, termed fra-l (Fos-related antigen) was characterized. It encoded a protein that shared several regions of extensive amino acid homology with Fos (including the region that showed similarity to both the yeast GCN4 regulatory protein and the protein encoded by thejun oncogene), although its nucleotide sequence was considerably diverged from that of the c-fos gene. Only a subset of the agents and conditions that activated c-fos also induced fra-1. Induction of fra-1 expression following serum stimulation was delayed compared with that of c-fos. However, like c-fos, fra-1 was induced rapidly by serum in the presence of protein synthesis inhibitors. Thus, a family of Fos-related, inducible genes are involved in the cellular immediate-early transcriptional response to extracellular stimuli.

The mechanisms regulating the development and function of the immune system are diverse and complicated. The signaling pathways and target genes that become activated upon cell-surface stimulation are currently being defined, and transcription factor activator protein 1 (AP-1) is proving to be an important regulator of nuclear gene expression in leukocytes. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that AP-1 expression is induced after a diverse range of stimuli and that AP-1 contributes to the regulation of a large number of genes. In this review we will examine the role of AP-1 during leukocyte activation and differentiation in the immune system.

The Fos protein complex and several Fos-related antigens (FRA) bind specifically to a sequence element referred to as the HeLa cell activator protein 1 (AP-1) binding site. A combination of structural and immunological comparisons has identified the Fos-associated protein (p39) as the protein product of the jun proto-oncogene (c-Jun). The p39/Jun protein is one of the major polypeptides identified in AP-1 oligonucleotide affinity chromatography extracts of cellular proteins. These preparations of AP-1 also contain Fos and several FRA's. Some of these proteins bind to the AP-1 site directly whereas others, like Fos, appear to bind indirectly via protein-protein interactions. Cell-surface stimulation results in an increase in c-fos and c-jun products. Thus, the products of two protooncogenes (and several related proteins), induced by extracellular stimuli, form a complex that associates with transcriptional control elements containing AP-1 sites, thereby potentially mediating the long-term responses to signals that regulate growth control and development.