To determine the effects of gonadal hormones on proliferation of the hippocampal neural cells, which are of importance in learning and memory function. 17β-Estradiol or testosterone was added to the culture at various concentrations. Their proliferation and protective effects on the neural cell were determined with BrdU, flow cytometry and MTT assay. Effects of the gonadal hormones on brain-der...

Neurodegenerative diseases represent a major public health problem, but beneficial clinical treatment with neurotrophic factors has not been established yet. The therapeutic use of neurotrophins has been restrained by their instability and rapid degradation in biological medium. A variety of strategies has been proposed for the administration of these leading therapeutic candidates, which are e...

Sensory neurons possess the central and peripheral branches and they form unique spinal neural circuits with motoneurons during development. Peripheral branches of sensory axons fasciculate with the motor axons that extend toward the peripheral muscles from the central nervous system (CNS), whereas the central branches of proprioceptive sensory neurons directly innervate motoneurons. Although a...

The interaction of the neurotrophin BDNF dipeptide mimetic, compound GSB-106, with tyrosine kinase TrkB receptor specific for fullsized was studied using surface plasmon resonance. significant decrease in binding to TrkB, which preincubated shown. obtained data indicate GSB-106 receptor.

Neurotrophins, brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), and neurotrophin-4 (NT-4), have been implicated in the modulation of heroin dependency. This study was designed to explore the expression alterations of BDNF, NT-3, and NT-4 in the context of heroin dependence and withdrawal in the rat nucleus accumbens (NAc). Heroin dependence was induced by a progressive intraper...

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 ...

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working age in US and worldwide. Neurotrophins including nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) are known to be essential for growth, differentiation and survival of neurons in the developing and mature retina. Nevertheless, a growing body of evidence supports ...

At the nerve terminal, neurotransmitter release is triggered by Ca(2+) influx through voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels (VGCCs). During postnatal development, VGCC subtypes in the nerve terminal switch at many synapses. In immature rodent cerebella, N-type and P/Q-type VGCCs mediate GABAergic neurotransmission from Purkinje cells (PCs) to deep nuclear cells, but as animals mature, neurotransmission...

Alterations in the expression and signaling of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the precursor to nerve growth factor (NGF), proNGF, play a role in the neuronal and cognitive dysfunction of Alzheimer's disease. Aggregated amyloid-β has been shown to down-regulate specific BDNF transcripts in Alzheimer's disease, but the role of tau pathology in neurotrophin dysregulation has not been...