Neurotrophic factors have been implicated in reactive processes occurring in response to CNS lesions. Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), in particular, has been shown to ameliorate axotomy-induced degeneration of CNS neurons and to be upregulated at wound sites in the brain. To investigate a potential role of CNTF in lesion-induced degeneration and reorganization, we have analyzed the expressi...

BACKGROUND Cone photoreceptors are responsible for color and central vision. In the late stage of retinitis pigmentosa and in geographic atrophy associated with age-related macular degeneration, cone degeneration eventually causes loss of central vision. In the present work, we investigated cone degeneration secondary to rod loss in the S334ter-3 transgenic rats carrying the rhodopsin mutation ...

Functional regeneration in the CNS is limited by lesion-induced neuronal apoptosis and an environment inhibiting axonal elongation. A principal, yet unresolved question is the interaction between these two major factors. We thus evaluated the role of pharmacological inhibition of rho kinase (ROCK), a key mediator of myelin-derived axonal growth inhibition and CNTF, a potent neurotrophic factor ...

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and Ciliary Neurotrophic factor (CNTF) are members of the interleukin-6 family of cytokines, defined by use of the gp130 molecule as an obligate receptor. In the murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model, antagonism of LIF and genetic deletion of CNTF worsen disease. The potential mechanism of action of these cytokines in EAE is complex, as gp...

Spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) receive input from cochlear hair cells and project from the cochlea to the cochlear nucleus. After destruction of hair cells with aminoglycoside antibiotics or noise, SGNs gradually die. It has been assumed that SGN death is attributable to loss of neurotrophic factors (NTFs) derived from hair cells or supporting cells in the organ of Corti (OC). We used quantitat...

Nerve growth factor (NGF) stimulates the expression of the cholinergic gene locus, which encodes choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), the proteins necessary for the synthesis and storage of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh). To determine whether this action of NGF is mediated by the p140TrkA NGF receptor (a member of the Trk tyrosine kinase fa...

PURPOSE To investigate the regulation of visual pigment expression in chick embryo photoreceptor cells by ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), and by the protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine. METHODS Embryonic day (ED) 8 chick embryo retinal cells were dissociated and cultured at low densities for 3 days, either in control medium or in medium supplemented with CNTF or staurosporine. The cult...

In multiple sclerosis, myelin repair is generally insufficient despite the relative survival of oligodendrocytes within the plaques and the recruitment of oligodendrocyte precursors. Promoting remyelination appears to be a crucial therapeutic challenge. Using a newly developed enzymatic index of myelination, we screened different neurotrophic factors for their ability to enhance myelination. Ne...

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) rescues photoreceptors in several animal models of retinal degeneration and is currently being evaluated as a potential treatment for retinitis pigmentosa in humans. This study was conducted to test whether CNTF prevents photoreceptor cell loss in XLPRA2, an early onset canine model of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa caused by a frameshift mutation in RPGR exon ...

PURPOSE The objective of the present study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) delivered through encapsulated cells directly into the vitreous of the eye in an rcd1 canine model of retinitis pigmentosa. The dose-range effect of the treatment was also investigated. METHODS Polymer membrane capsules (1.0 cm in length and 1.0 mm in diameter) were loaded...