The expression of NMDA receptor and pCREB in the visual cortex of monocularly-deprived rats

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit 1 (NMDAR1) and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) play a role in vision plasticity. However, the correlation between their expression and vision plasticity is not clear. The present study aimed to examine the expression of NMDAR1 and phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) in the visual cortex of monocularly-deprived (MD) rats in the developmental phase. Eighty healthy Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=20); normal, MD, KN-93 (MD rats treated with KN-93, a calmodulin kinase IV inhibitor) and saline (MD rats treated with saline as control). All rats were reared for 45 days in a naturally lit environment. The expression of NMDAR1 and pCREB in the hibateral visual cortex of rats from each group was detected by immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. The results demonstrate that, compared with the normal group, the expression of NMDAR1 and pCREB was increased in deprived and decreased in the non-deprived-side visual cortex in MD. Compared with the saline group, no significant difference was identified in NMDAR1 expression while pCREB expression was decreased in the deprived-side visual cortex in KN‑93. No significant difference in the expression of NMDAR1 and pCREB in the non-deprived-side visual cortex between the KN-93 and saline groups was observed. The results indicate that NMDAR1 and CREB are involved in the ocular dominance forming process and play a role in vision plasticity.