We report the presence of truncated forms of the nerve growth factor receptor (NGFRt) in the conditioned medium of the human melanoma cell line A875 and in human urine and amniotic fluid. Radioiodinated nerve growth factor (125I-NGF) specifically bound to NGFRt was chemically cross-linked. After immunoprecipitation, labeled receptor species were visualized by autoradiography following sodium do...

In the human prostate, a low affinity (p75) nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor (NGF-R) localizes to the epithelia while a NGF-like protein localizes to the stroma. This NGF-like ligand, derived from prostate stromal cell cultures, has been shown to participate in paracrine mediated growth of a human tumor epithelial cell line (TSU-prl) in vitro. In order to investigate the role of the NGF-R in ...

There is a great deal of interest in neurotrophin therapy to prevent neuronal degeneration. However, the blood-brain barrier presents a major hurdle in the use of peptide therapeutics. The goal of this study was to identify small molecule, cell-permeable nerve growth factor (NGF) activators. Combinatorial libraries of asterriquinones (>300) and mono-indolyl-quinones (>60) were screened using a ...

In situ hybridization with beta-nerve growth factor receptor (NGF-R) oligonucleotide probes was used to study NGF-R mRNA expression in early chicken embryos. Sections through the region of the visceral arches showed high levels of NGF-R mRNA in mesenchyme of the visceral arches, neural tube and myotomes. Labelling was also seen over E3 primordium of the trigeminal ganglion (V) and in the placod...

Normal human melanocytes, which require the phorbol ester 12-0tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) for growth in culture, were transfected with a SV40 T-antigen-containing plasmiti by using the technique of electroporation, and were scored for colonies of morphologically altered cells. The frequency of transformed colonies was higher when selection was done in the absence rather than the prese...

The cell surface antigen distribution on traumatic neuroma Schwann cells and neurofibroma Schwann-like cells was characterized using mono clonal antibodies that define melanoma-associated antigens. Immunofluorescence staining of cultured cells, immunoprecipitation of radioiodinated antigens from cells placed in short-term cultures, and immunoperoxidase staining of frozen tissue sections reveale...

Neurons in the mouse dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) are composed of a variety of sensory modalities, such as pain-related nociceptors, itch-related pruriceptors, and thermoceptors. All these neurons are derived from late-born neurons that are initially marked by the expression of the nerve growth factor receptor TrkA. During perinatal and postnatal development, these TrkA lineage neurons are global...

Sequence analysis of rat and human low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor p75LNGFR gene promoter regions revealed a single E-box cis-acting element, located upstream of the major transcription start sites. Deletion analysis of the E-box sequence demonstrated that it significantly contributes to p75LNGFR promoter activity. This E box has a dual function; it mediates either activation or repre...

To investigate the possibility of local antigen presentation within the peripheral nerve in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cryostat sections of 83 peripheral nerve biopsies were stained for the demonstration of HLA-DR using a monoclonal antibody. Forty samples showed increased expression of HLA-DR in endoneurium. The phenotypic characteristics of the HLA-DR positive cells are chiefly Schw...

The neural crest arises from the neuro-ectoderm during embryogenesis and persists only temporarily. Early experiments already proofed pluripotent progenitor cells to be an integral part of the neural crest(1). Phenotypically, neural crest stem cells (NCSC) are defined by simultaneously expressing p75 (low-affine nerve growth factor receptor, LNGFR) and SOX10 during their migration from the neur...