The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)) is involved in numerous neuronal signaling paths but its fundamental signaling mechanisms are unknown. In this issue of Neuron, Vilar et al. show that p75NTR functions as a covalently crosslinked dimer to transduce NGF-induced signaling events.

Trk receptors are a family of three receptor tyrosine kinases, each of which can be activated by one or more of four neurotrophins-nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and neurotrophins 3 and 4 (NT3 and NT4). Neurotrophin signaling through these receptors regulates cell survival, proliferation, the fate of neural precursors, axon and dendrite growth and patternin...

Sympathetic neurons express the neurotrophin receptors TrkA, p75NTR, and a non-functional truncated TrkB isoform (TrkB-Tc), but are not thought to express a functional full-length TrkB receptor (TrkB-Fl). We, and others, have demonstrated that nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) modulate synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity in neurons of the superior ...

The role played by PDGF in testis morphogenesis is still incompletely understood. The present study investigates the expression and potential role of platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) and its receptor, PDGF receptor beta (PDGFR-beta), during mouse testis cord formation, and the possibility that the growth factor may be involved in the migration to the gonad of mesenchymal cells of mes...