Abbreviations: AMPA: α-amino-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazole4-propionate; ATP: Adenosine Triphosphate; BDNF: Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; CNS: Central Nervous System; EAAT: Excitatory Amino-Acid Transporter; FGF: Fibroblast Growth Factor; GDNF: Glial-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; GLAST: Glutamate Aspartate Transporter; GLT-1: Glutamate Transporter-1; NO: Nitric Oxide; IL3: Interleukin-3; IL-6: ...

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) forms a functional receptor complex containing the CNTF receptor, gp130, and the leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR). However, the nature and stoichiometry of the receptor-mediated interactions in this complex have not yet been fully resolved. We show here that signaling by CNTF, but not by LIF or oncostatin M (OSM), was abolished in cells overexpressin...

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) mRNA is highly expressed by dental pulp cells (DPCs) prior to the initiation of dental pulp innervation. We show that radioactively labelled exogenous GDNF is retrogradely transported from neonatal teeth and vibrissae to the trigeminal neurons, indicating that GDNF acts as a classical neurotrophic factor in the trigeminal system. We also show t...

BACKGROUND Glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor is a survival factor for dopaminergic neurons and a promising candidate for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. However, the delivery issue of the protein to the brain still remains unsolved. Our aim was to investigate the effect of long-term delivery of encapsulated glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor within microspheres. METHODS A singl...

PURPOSE. Application of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) can rescue mature photoreceptors from lesion-induced and hereditary degeneration. In the chick retina, expression of the CNTF receptor is present in a subpopulation of photoreceptor cells. The present study was undertaken to identify the CNTF receptor-expressing photoreceptors and to describe the subcellular localization of the receptor...

Synthesis of the ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and its specific receptor (CNTFRalpha) is widespread in the intact CNS, but potential biological roles for this system remain elusive. Contradictory results have been obtained concerning a possible effect on the morphological and biochemical phenotype of astrocytes. To reassess this question, we have taken advantage of adenovirus-mediated gene...

Neurotrophic factors (NTs) are secreted proteins that regulate survival and differentiation of nerve cells. Nerve growth factor (NGF), the first discovered NT, together with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT3 ) and neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5), form the classical family of NTs. However, many other growth factors, which are effective also outside the nervous system, such ...

Recent studies have indicated that the choice of lineage of neural progenitor cells is determined, at least in part, by environmental factors, such as neurotrophic factors. Despite extensive studies using exogenous neurotrophic factors, the effect of endogenous neurotrophic factors on the differentiation of progenitor cells remains obscure. Here we show that embryonic spinal cord derived-progen...

background: ionizing radiation causes cognitive impairment in adult brain. however, the effects of various irradiation protocols with fractionated fixed total dose on hippocampal function have not yet been studied. materials and methods: fractionated whole brain irradiation with a total dose of 36 gy was performed according to the following protocols: 2gy-18 fractions (2gy*18), 4gy-9 fraction (...