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Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Fluorescent Calcium Imaging and Subsequent In Situ Hybridization for Neuronal Precursor Characterization in Xenopus laevis
Published on: February 18, 2020
Upstream stimulatory factors are mediators of Ca2+-responsive transcription in neurons
Wen G Chen1, Anne E West, Xu Tao
1Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Abstract:
To identify molecular mechanisms that control activity-dependent gene expression in the CNS, we have characterized the factors that mediate activity-dependent transcription of BDNF promoter III. We report the identification of a Ca(2+)-responsive E-box element, CaRE2, within BDNF promoter III that binds upstream stimulatory factors 1 and 2 (USF1/2) and show that USFs are required for the activation of CaRE2-dependent transcription from BDNF promoter III. We find that the transcriptional activity of the USFs is regulated by Ca(2+)-activated signaling pathways in neurons and that the USFs bind to the promoters of a number of neuronal activity-regulated genes in vivo. These results suggest a new function for the USFs in the regulation of activity-dependent transcription in neurons.
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