High-grade glioma is incurable and is associated with a short survival time and a poor prognosis. There are two forms of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), proBDNF and mature BDNF, which exert opposite effects. Their diverse actions are mediated through two different transmembrane receptor signalling systems: p75NTR and TrkB. The important roles of the BDNF/TrkB signalling system in tumo...

Pax6-positive radial glial (RG) cells are the progenitors of most glutamatergic neurons in the cortex, a lineage that can be recapitulated in vitro using embryonic stem (ES) cells. We show here that ES cells lacking Pax6, a transcription factor long known to be essential for cortical development, generate Mash1-positive RG cells that differentiate in GABAergic neurons. These neurons express hig...

The Nogo-66 receptor (NgR) plays a critical role in restricting axon regeneration in the central nervous system. This inhibitory action is in part mediated by a neuronal receptor complex containing p75NTR, a multifunctional receptor also well known to trigger cell death upon binding to neurotrophins such as NGF. In the present study, we show that Pep4 and NEP1-40, which are two peptides derived...

BackgroundRadical prostatectomy for prostate cancer can not only induce cavernous nerve injury (CNI), but also causes hypoxia and structural changes, which lead to a poor response phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors.AimTo investigate the therapeutic effect of oral administration LM11A-31, small molecule p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) ligand proNGF antagonist, in mouse model bilateral CNI, mimics...

Nerve Growth Factor (NGF)/Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and osteocalcin share common effects regulating energy, bone mass, reproduction and neuronal functions. To investigate on the gene-relationship between NGF, BDNF, and Osteocalcin we compared by RT-PCR the transcript levels of Ngf, Bdnf and Osteocalcin as well as of their receptors p75NTR/NTRK1, NTRK2, and Gprc6a in brain, bone, ...

Background: Olfactomedin 1 (Olfm1) is a highly conserved secreted glycoprotein with the unknown mechanism of action. Results: Olfm1 binds to NgR1 and its binding reduced binding of NgR1 co-receptors, p75NTR and LINGO-1. Conclusion: Olfm1 is a novel NgR1 ligand that modulates the functions of the NgR1 complex in axonal growth. Significance: Olfm1 may be used to facilitate neuronal growth after a...

OBJECTIVE Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats develop vasculopathy as photoreceptors degenerate. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of erythropoietin (EPO) on retinopathy in RCS rats. METHODS Fluorescein angiography was used to monitor retinal vascular changes over time. Changes in retinal glia and vasculature were studied by immunostaining. To study the effects of EPO on retina...

A major challenge in neurological gene therapy is safe delivery of transgenes to sufficient cell numbers from the circulation or periphery. This is particularly difficult for diseases involving spinal cord motor neurons such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We have examined the feasibility of non-viral gene delivery to spinal motor neurons from intraperitoneal injections of plasmids carr...