Inflammation is often accompanied by robust angiogenesis. Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) express erbB receptors and their ligand, neuregulin-1, and can respond to neuregulin by proliferation and angiogenesis. We hypothesized that some growth factor-like responses of ECs to inflammatory cytokines can be explained by cleavage of transmembrane neuregulin with subsequent release of its extracellu...

Neuregulin is a neural factor implicated in upregulation of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) synthesis at the neuromuscular junction. Previous studies have demonstrated that the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) subgroup of MAP kinases is required for neuregulin-induced AChR gene expression. We report here that the neuregulin-mediated increase in AChR epsilon-subunit mRNA was a delayed r...

Neuregulins are a family of growth and differentiation factors that act through activation of cell-surface erbB receptor tyrosine kinases and have essential functions both during development and on the growth of cancer cells. One alternatively spliced neuregulin-1 form has a distinct heparin-binding immunoglobulin-like domain that enables it to adhere to heparan sulfate proteoglycans at key loc...

The neuregulins are a family of polypeptide factors implicated in a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders including multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease. Many alternatively-spliced forms of the NRG1 gene are released as soluble factors that can diffuse to near and distant sites within the nervous system where they can accumulate through binding to highly spe...

BACKGROUND Adequate migration of Schwann cells (Sc) is crucial for axon-guidance in the regenerative process after peripheral nerve injury (PNI). Considering neuregulin-erbB-FAK signaling is an essential pathway participating in the regulation of Sc migration during development, the present study is aimed to examine whether neuregulin would exert its beneficial effects on adult following PNI an...

the neuregulin is a member of the epidermal growth factors (egf) family of receptor kinases, was originally identified as the product of the transforming gene derived from chemically induced rat neuroblastoms. a variety of different protein isoforms are produced from single neuregulin gene. four distinct vertebrate gene encode neuregulin, prosaically named nrg1, nrg2, nrg3, and nrg4. most of bi...

Neuregulin 1 acts as an axonal signal that regulates multiple aspects of Schwann cell development including the survival and migration of Schwann cell precursors, the ensheathment of axons and subsequent elaboration of the myelin sheath. To examine the role of this factor in remyelination and repair following nerve injury, we ablated neuregulin 1 in the adult nervous system using a tamoxifen in...

T he investigation of biomarkers in clinical studies can provide insights into mechanistic pathways about a disease or condition, and may help identify potentially novel therapeutic strategies or inform about prognosis or disease progression. In this issue of the European Respiratory Journal, FINIGAN et al. [1] show that high levels of neuregulin-1, a potentially novel biomarker for lung injury...

During peripheral nervous system development, Schwann cells are precisely matched to the axons that they support. This is mediated by axonal neuregulins that are essential for Schwann cell survival and differentiation. Here, we show that sensory and motor axons rapidly release heparin-binding forms of neuregulin in response to Schwann cell-derived neurotrophic factors in a dose-dependent manner...

The ligands of the epidermal growth factor family and their receptors, the ErbB proteins, have been linked to the development of different types of cancer. Particular attention has focused on ErbB2, whose activation may occur by receptor overexpression or by ligand-induced oligomerization with other ErbB receptors. Whether these two modes of ErbB2 activation cause the same biological responses ...