Pleiotropic growth factors play a number of critical roles in continuous processes of embryonic development; however, the mechanisms by which a single regulatory factor is able to orchestrate diverse developmental events remain imperfectly understood. In the development of the enteric nervous system (ENS), myenteric ganglia (MGs) form initially, after which the submucosal ganglia (SMGs) develop...

G lial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) belongs to the neurotrophic factor family. GDNF functions are not restricted to neurons but are also implicated in glial cell development (1). We observed high expression levels of GDNF receptor family -component 2 (GFR 2) in epiretinal membranes (ERMs) in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), indicating the involvement of GFR 2 in ERM for...

BACKGROUND Recent evidence suggests that neurotrophic growth factor systems, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor, might be involved in the pathophysiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is from the transforming growth factor-β family and is abundantly expressed in the central nervous system, where it plays a role in...

Enteric neural crest cells (NCCs) migrate and colonize the entire gut and proliferate and differentiate into neurons and glia of the enteric nervous system in vertebrate embryos. We have investigated the mitogenic and morphogenic functions of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) on enteric NCCs in cell and organ culture. Enteric NCCs expressed Shh receptor Patched and transcripts encoding the Shh signal transd...

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and its canonical receptor Ret can signal together or independently to fulfill many important functions in the midbrain dopaminergic (DA) system. While Ret signaling clearly impacts on the development, maintenance and regeneration of the mesostriatal DA system, the physiological functions of GDNF for the DA system are still unclear. Nevertheles...

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) promotes neuronal survival and influences the development and function of synaptic connections. To test the role of GDNF on the stabilisation of synapses, we examined reinnervated neuromuscular junctions in myo-GDNF mice that over-express GDNF under control of a myogenin promoter. The level of polyneuronal innervation was increased following re...

Olfactory bulb (OB) interneurons are generated from neuroblast cells derived from the anterior subventricular zone (SVZa) of the forebrain. The mechanisms guiding the rostral migration of these neuronal precursors are not well understood. Here, we show that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is produced in the olfactory bulb but distributed along the rostral migratory stream (RM...

To test whether glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) regulates the development of nigral dopaminergic neurons in vivo, neonatal rats received bilateral injections of GDNF into the striatum. Injections at postnatal day 2 induced a unique transient behavioral pattern characterized by forelimb hyperflexure, clawed toes of all limbs, and a kinked tail. Parallel to the behavioral chang...

Oxidative stress is widely recognized to contribute to neuronal death during various pathological conditions and ageing. In the enteric nervous system (ENS), reactive oxygen species have been implicated in the mechanism of age-associated neuronal loss. The neurotrophic factors, neurotrophin 3 (NT-3) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), are important in the development of ente...