Signal Transduction in Neuronal Death

Neuronal Development and Signal Transduction

Neuronal differentiation is a complex neurobiological phenomenon that includes a series of events that are developmentally regulated. The first step in differentiation is a block of proliferation, leading from a round, cycling neuroblast to a flat quiescent neuron. This is followed by the process of extension of neurites, that represents the starting point for the morphological and functional p...

Trk receptors: roles in neuronal signal transduction.

Trk receptors are a family of three receptor tyrosine kinases, each of which can be activated by one or more of four neurotrophins-nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and neurotrophins 3 and 4 (NT3 and NT4). Neurotrophin signaling through these receptors regulates cell survival, proliferation, the fate of neural precursors, axon and dendrite growth and patternin...

A RIP Tide in Neuronal Signal Transduction

The generation of nuclear signaling proteins by regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) is a new paradigm of signal transduction. Mammalian proteins that are processed by RIP include SREBP-1, Notch-1, amyloid precursor protein (APP), and ErbB-4. Intramembranous gamma-secretase cleavage of APP plays a central role in Alzheimer's disease by generating the amyloid beta protein. An intriguing pos...

TRP Channels in Neuronal and Glial Signal Transduction

Role of protein phosphorylation in neuronal signal transduction.

Protein phosphorylation is involved in the regulation of a wide variety of physiological processes in the nervous system. Studies in which purified protein kinases or kinase inhibitors have been microinjected into defined cells while a specific response is monitored have demonstrated that protein phosphorylation is both necessary and sufficient to mediate responses of excitable cells to extrace...