The role of neurotrophin-3 (NT3) during sensory neuron development was investigated in transgenic mice overexpressing NT3 under the control of the promoter and enhancer regions of the nestin gene, an intermediate filament gene widely expressed in the developing nervous system. Most of these mice died during the first postnatal day, and all showed severe limb ataxia suggestive of limb propriocep...

In the mature rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG), only one tau isoform is expressed, and this protein (110 kDa in apparent molecular weight) is considerably larger in size than the predominant tau isoforms found in brain. The size of the mRNA encoding the "big" tau mRNA in DRG [approximately 8 kilobases (kb)] is also much larger than that of the major rat brain tau mRNA species (approximately 6 kb)...

Our study focuses on characterization of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons cultured on silicon micro-pillar substrates (MPS) with the ultimate goal of designing micro-electrode arrays (MEAs) for successful electrophysiological recordings of DRG neurons. Adult and neonatal DRG neurons were cultured on MPS and glass coverslips for 7 days in vitro. DRG neuronal distribution and morphometric analy...

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is expressed in nociceptive sensory neurons and transported anterogradely to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord where it is located in dense core vesicles in C-fiber terminals. Peripheral inflammation substantially up-regulates BDNF mRNA and protein in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) in a nerve growth factor-dependent fashion and results in novel expressi...

Ca2+ entry into different diameter cell bodies of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons depolarized with action potential (AP) waveform commands was studied using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique and pharmacological probes. We have previously shown that Ca2+ current expression in DRG neuron cell bodies depends on cell diameter. In small diameter DRG neurons, L- and N-type Ca2+ currents usually...

Injury or inflammation affecting sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) causes hyperexcitability of DRG neurons that can lead to spinal central sensitization and neuropathic pain. Recent studies have indicated that, following chronic compression of DRG (CCD) or acute dissociation of DRG (ADD) treatment, both hyperexcitability of neurons in intact DRG and behaviorally expressed hyperal...

Peripheral axons of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, but not their central axons in the dorsal columns, regenerate after injury. However, if the neurons are conditioned by a peripheral nerve injury into an actively growing state, the rate of peripheral axonal growth is accelerated and the injured central axons begin to regenerate. The growth-promoting effects of conditioning injuries have tw...

Adult spinal cord motor and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons express multiple neuregulin-1 (NRG-1) isoforms that act as axon-associated factors promoting neuromuscular junction formation and Schwann cell proliferation and differentiation. NRG-1 isoforms are also expressed by muscle and Schwann cells, suggesting that motor and sensory neurons are themselves acted on by NRG-1 isoforms p...

This article describes a simple electronic unit to obtain time-lapse recordings with the use of a common remote-controlled home video cassette recorder, for example a VHS recorder. The electronic unit is a timer to be connected to the remote-control unit. The video cassette recorder itself remains unchanged. Replay of the recorded images speeds up the original process by a factor of 2-100 x or ...

The Rockefeller University Press $30.00 J. Cell Biol. Vol. 188 No. 2 271–285 www.jcb.org/cgi/doi/10.1083/jcb.200906089 JCB 271 Correspondence to Armela Joset: [email protected]; or Martin E. Schwab: [email protected] Abbreviations used in this paper: CGN, cerebellar granule neuron; CNS, central nervous system; CREB, cAMP response element binding; db-cAMP, dibutyryl cAMP; DIV, day in vitro; dn...