Glutamate-evoked gene expression in brain cells - Focus on transcription factors

L-glutamate (L-glu) is major excitatory neurotransmitter in mammalian central nervous system. Besides short term effects on neuronal activity, L-glu affects also long term neuronal and glial responses. Neuromodulatory function of L-glu may in part be dependent on its ability to activate transcription factors - proteins regulating gene expression through interaction with specific regulatory sequences located in promoter and enhancer gene regions. This paper reviews recent data suggesting that L-glu can selectively stimulate genes encoding transcription factors like zif/268 and fos and jun gene families, as well as the factors themselves both in neurons and astroglia cultured in vitro and brain cells in vivo.