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Abstract

In the gastropod mollusk Lymnaea stagnalis, insulin-like peptides in the central nervous system (CNS) control behavioral changes associated with associative learning. Insulin administration to the Lymnaea CNS enhances the synaptic plasticity involved in this type of learning, but it has remained unclear which molecules in the insulin response cascade are involved. Here, to advance a comprehensive analysis, we used two-dimensional electrophoresis and comparative quantitative mass spectrometry to perform a protein analysis investigating the CNS molecules that respond to insulin administration. Our results revealed increased phosphorylation of AKT and RICTOR in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling cascade and cytoskeleton-related proteins. Although it was expected that the molecules in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling cascade were phosphorylated by insulin administration, our findings confirmed the correlation between insulin-induced phosphorylation of cytoskeleton-related proteins strongly involved in the synaptic changes and learning and memory mechanisms. These results contribute to elucidate the relationship between the insulin response and learning and memory mechanisms not only in Lymnaea but also in various invertebrates and vertebrates.