Several new members of the nerve growth factor family of neurotrophins, which comprises nerve growth factor itself, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophins-3, -4 (also known as neurotrophin-5) and -6, have been isolated in recent years. Their signaling receptors have been identified as the Trk family of tyrosine protein kinases, thus facilitating the dissection of the signaling path...

........................................................................................................12 1. LITERATURE REVIEW...............................................................................14 1.1 NEUROTROPHIC FACTORS ....................................................................................14 1.2 THE GDNF FAMILY OF NEUROTROPHIC FACTORS ...................................

Models of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, whether in the context of development or of learning and memory, have long postulated the existence of extracellular signal-ing molecules that enhance and stabilize active synapses. In recent years, neurotrophic factors have emerged as attractive candidates for such signaling molecules. The work of several laboratories has shown that neurotrophi...

Neurotrophic factors play key roles in the development and survival of neurons. The potent neuroprotective effects of neurotrophic factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF), suggest that they are good therapeutic candidates for neurodegenerative diseases. Glauc...

In the developing vertebrate nervous system the survival of sensory neurons becomes dependent on neurotrophic factors when their axons reach their target fields, and the synthesis of nerve growth factor (NGF) by target field cells commences with the arrival of the earliest axons. The timing of NGF synthesis and the onset of neurotrophic factor dependence are not, however, reliant on innervation...

Amphotericin B (AmB) is a polyene antifungal drug and is reported to be one of a few reagents having therapeutic effects on prion diseases, that is, a delay in the appearance of clinical signs and prolongation of the survival time in an animal model. In prion diseases, glial cells have been suggested to play important roles; however, the therapeutic mechanism of AmB on prion diseases remains el...

In vivo and in vitro motoneuron survival depends on the support of neurotrophic factors. These factors activate signaling pathways related to cell survival or inactivate proteins involved in neuronal death. In the present work, we analyzed the involvement of the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway in mediating mouse spinal cord motoneuron survival promoted by neurotrophic factors. This pathway co...