The neurotrophins are growth factors required by discrete neuronal cell types for survival and maintenance, with a broad range of activities in the central and peripheral nervous system in the developing and adult mammal. This review examines their role in diverse disease states, including Alzheimer's disease, depression, pain and asthma. In addition, the role of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophi...

GENE EXPRESSION ANALYSIS OF NEUROTROPHINS, TRK RECEPTORS, AND ASSOCIATED REGULATORY MOLECULES AFTER CONTUSIVE SPINAL CORD INJURY Matthew Tyler Hougland August 12, 2013 Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) results in changes to the anatomical, neurochemical, and physiological properties of cells in the central and peripheral nervous system. Neurotrophins, acting by binding to their cognate Trk rec...

Polyclonal antibodies raised against mouse 2.5S NGF (mNGF) and against synthetic peptides made from hydrophilic portions of mNGF have been used to compare the immunological properties of mNGF, human recombinant brain-derived neurotrophic factor (hrBDNF), and human recombinant neurotrophin-3 (hrNT-3). Affinity-isolated antibodies raised against intact mNGF reacted with all three neurotrophins wh...

Background. BDNF and NT-4/5 have been proposed to be involved in the coordinated adaptations of the neuromuscular system to the elevated level of activity, but an activity-dependent expression of neurotrophins in skeletal muscle is not well established. Objectives. We, therefore, investigated the effect of one session of resistance exercise on mRNA expression of some neurotrophins in Slow and ...

Trophic factors play an important role in the development of neurons and glia. In order to study the involvement of neurotrophins in human cortical development, human fetal parietal cortical tissue, obtained after early elective abortions, was transplanted to cortical cavities in immunosuppressed rats. Using in situ hybridization it was demonstrated that nerve growth factor, brain-derived neuro...

Ocular dominance column formation in visual cortex depends on both the presence of subplate neurons and the endogenous expression of neurotrophins. Here we show that deletion of subplate neurons, which supply glutamatergic inputs to visual cortex, leads to a paradoxical increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA in the same region of visual cortex in which ocular dominance columns are a...