Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) is one of the major lysophospholipids mainly generated by phospholipase A2 (PLA2)-mediated hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine (PC). We previously found that LPC displays neurotrophin-like activity in the rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells and in cerebellar granule neurons, but the molecular mechanism remains unclear. We report here that LPC specifically enhances nerve ...

It is postulated that supplementation of exogenous nerve growth factor (NGF) might mediate improvement of the cardiac sympathetic nerve function in heart failure (HF). Local intramuscular injection of NGF near the cardiac sympathetic ganglia could influence the innervation pattern, norepinephrine transporter (NET) gene expression, and improve the cardiac remodeling in experimental HF animals. I...

Knowledge of the effects of nerve growth factor (NGF) on glia is limited. A CNS site where NGF-glial interactions may occur is the retina. NGF is endogenous to the retina, and the retinal Müller glial cells have NGF receptors. Here, we examined the possibility that NGF may be a mitogen for Müller glial cells, which often proliferate in response to pathophysiological conditions. Experiments were...

Kellie Adrienne Park CELLULAR MECHANISMS MEDIATING THE ACTIONS OF NERVE GROWTH FACTOR IN SENSORY NEURONS Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin upregulated with injury and inflammation. Peripheral administration of NGF causes hyperalgesia and allodynia in animals. Blocking NGF signaling reverses these effects. At the cellular level, chronic exposure of sensory neurons to NGF enhances expre...

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A), the only known protein containing the polyamine-derived amino acid hypusine, modulates protein synthesis. We show that neurotrophic and neuroprotective actions of nerve growth factor (NGF) are mediated by hypusinated eIF5A, which can account for the known roles of polyamines in cell growth and survival. NGF treatment of PC12 cells stimulates ...

There is increasing evidence that the neurotrophins, particularly nerve growth factor (NGF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), play a role in the regulation of glial development in the CNS. Recent studies have shown that the proliferation of optic nerve-derived O2A progenitors (OLPs) is potentiated by NT-3 in combination with platelet-derived growth factor, whereas NT-3 alone supports the survival of t...

NERVE GROWTH FACTOR (NGF) has been suggested to play a role in bladder pain by mediating inflammation (12) and functional changes in sensory and sympathetic neurons innervating the urinary bladder (5). Clinically, diseases such as interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) have been associated with elevated urinary levels of NGF (10), and the urothelium of individuals with IC/PBS p...

The regulation of innervation by target-derived factors like nerve growth factor (NGF) is the cornerstone of neurotrophic theory. Whereas autocrine signaling in neurons affecting survival and axon growth has been described, it is difficult to reconcile autocrine signaling with the idea that targets control their innervation. Here, we report that an autocrine signaling loop in developing mouse s...

Objectives: Maternal obesity increases the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and is positively correlated with neonatal increasing adiposity in both young adult offspring. secreted factors from adipose tissue such as adipokines inflammatory cytokines may regulate fetal growth. This study investigated associations between maternal markers at late gestation, anthropometric characteristi...