Figure 8

Chronic exposure to cocaine increases usage of the ΔKal promoter and the Kal7 3'-terminal exon. Samples of RNA were prepared from the nucleus accumbens of three sets of mice treated with cocaine (20 mg/kg for 7 days) or saline. A. Promoter usage was evaluated using the primers described in Figure 1. Cocaine treatment had no effect on usage of full-length Kalrn promoters A, B, C, or D. B. Chronic cocaine treatment increased usage of the ΔKal promoter. C. Usage of the different Kalirin 3'-terminal exons was evaluated as described in Figures 2-3; usage of the Kal7-specific 3'-terminal exon increased following chronic cocaine treatment.