Neurotrophins influence the epigenetic shaping of the vertebrate nervous system by regulating neuronal numbers during development and synaptic plasticity. Here we attempt to determine whether these growth factors can also regulate neurotransmitter plasticity. As a model system we used the selection between noradrenergic and cholinergic neurotransmission by paravertebral sympathetic neurons. Dev...

PURPOSE To determine which of the neurotrophins (NTs)-nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT3), and neurotrophin-4/5 (NT4)-and their receptors (NTrs), TrkA, TrkB, TrkC, and p75, are present in the adult rat lacrimal gland. METHODS RT-PCR was performed on RNA isolated from male rat lacrimal gland, using oligonucleotides specific to each NT and N...

Whether two copies of the neurotrophin-3 (NT3) gene are necessary for proper development of cardiac sympathetic innervation was investigated in mice carrying a targeted inactivation of the NT3 gene. Heterozygous (+/-) and null (-/-) mutant mice had fewer stellate ganglion neurons than did wild-type (+/+) mice at postnatal day 0 (P0 or birth), and this deficit was maintained between adult (P60) ...

After peripheral nerve injury, motor and sensory axons are able to regenerate but inaccuracy of target reinnervation leads to poor functional recovery. Extracellular matrix (ECM) components and neurotrophic factors (NTFs) exert their effect on different neuronal populations creating a suitable environment to promote axonal growth. Here, we assessed in vitro and in vivo the selective effects of ...

PURPOSE To determine which neurotrophins (NTs)-nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophin (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT3), and neurotrophin-4 (NT4)-and their receptors (NTrs) TrkA, TrkB, TrkC, and p75 are present in rat conjunctiva and cultured rat goblet cells (CGCs) and whether NTs stimulate glycoconjugate secretion or cell proliferation. METHODS Western blot analysis and immunofluo...

objective(s): the stimulation of neural stem cells (nscs) differentiation into neurons has attracted great attention in management of neurodegenerative disease and traumatic brain injury. it has been reported that selegiline could enhance the morphologic differentiation of embryonic stem cells. therefore this study aimed to investigate the effects of selegiline on nscs differentiation with focu...

Allergen-specific Abs play a pivotal role in the induction and maintenance of allergic airway inflammation. During secondary immune responses, plasma cell survival and Ab production is mediated by extrinsic factors provided by the local environment (survival niches). It is unknown whether neurotrophins, a characteristic marker of allergic airway inflammation, influence plasma cell survival in t...

AIMS To investigate the staining pattern of neurotrophin-3 (NT3), neurotrophin-4 (NT4), and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as well as glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) and CD68 in lasered human retina. METHODS Retinal laser photocoagulation was performed on four patients (two males, two females) with choroidal malignant melanoma 1-6 days before enucleation. Three other enucleated...

Neurotrophins are key players of neural development by controlling cell death programs. However, the signaling pathways that mediate their selective responses in different populations of neurons remain unclear. In the mammalian cochlea, sensory neurons differentiate perinatally into type I and II populations both expressing TrkB and TrkC, which bind respectively brain-derived neurotrophic facto...