Neuritic degeneration and synaptic loss are features of both neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative disease. The tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline has neurotrophic and anti-inflammatory properties and acts as a novel agonist of the neurotrophin Trk receptors. Primary cortical neurons were treated with amitriptyline, nortriptyline and NGF and tested for neuronal complexity by Sholl analysi...

The neural cell adhesion molecule L1 is a multidomain protein that plays important roles in cell adhesion, migration, and neurite outgrowth. To analyze structure-function relationships of L1 in neurite outgrowth and cell body adhesion, we have expressed and purified a set of different fragments of the extracellular part of this glycoprotein in CHO cells and in Escherichia coli. When neurite out...

The axonal surface glycoproteins neuronglia cell adhesion molecule (NgCAM) and axonin-1 promote cell-cell adhesion, neurite outgrowth and fasciculation, and are involved in growth cone guidance. A direct binding between NgCAM and axonin-1 has been demonstrated using isolated molecules conjugated to the surface of fluorescent microspheres. By expressing NgCAM and axonin-1 in myeloma cells and pe...

We demonstrate that tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and its inhibitors contribute to neurite outgrowth in the central nervous system (CNS) after treatment of stroke with multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). In vivo, administration of MSCs to mice subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) significantly increased activation of tPA and downregulated PAI-1 levels in the ische...

The regulation of neurite outgrowth is crucial in developing strategies to promote neurite regeneration after nerve injury and in degenerative diseases. In this study, we demonstrate that overexpression of an adaptor/scaffolding protein SH2B1β promotes neurite re-growth of differentiated PC12 cells, an established neuronal model, using wound healing (scraping) assays. Cell migration and the sub...

Nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neurite outgrowth from rat PC12 cells was coincident with elevated (>/=2-fold) levels of endogenous ubiquitin (Ub) protein conjugates, elevated rates of formation of 125I-labeled Ub approximately E1 (Ub-activating enzyme) thiol esters and 125I-labeled Ub approximately E2 (Ub carrier protein) thiol esters in vitro, and enhanced capacity to synthesize 125I-labele...

In the present study, we evaluated the differentiation potential of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) toward Schwann cells, together with their functional capacity with regard to myelination and support of neurite outgrowth in vitro. Successful Schwann cell differentiation was confirmed at the morphological and ultrastructural level by transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, compared...

To probe for the role of the L1 cell surface glycoprotein during neurite outgrowth and fasciculation in the early postnatal mouse cerebellar cortex, a microexplant culture system was used. Fasciculation of neurites was reduced in the presence of antigen-binding fragments (Fab) of poly- and monoclonal L1 antibodies, as compared to untreated controls. In addition, speed of neurite outgrowth was e...

The transplantation of Schwann cells (SCs) could successfully promote axonal regeneration. This is likely to attribute to the adhesion molecules expression and growth factors secretion of SCs. But which factor(s) play a key role has not been precisely studied. In this study, an outgrowth assay using dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neuron-SC co-culture system in vitro was performed. Co-culture of SCs ...

After spinal cord injury in the adult mammal, axons do not normally regrow and this commonly leads to paralysis. Retinoic acid (RA) can stimulate neurite outgrowth in vitro of both the embryonic central and peripheral nervous system, via activation of the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) beta2. We show here that regions of the adult CNS, including the cerebellum and cerebral cortex, express RARbeta...