Activation of microglia commonly occurs in response to a wide variety of pathological stimuli including trauma, axotomy, ischemia, and degeneration in the CNS. In the retina, prolonged or high-intensity exposure to visible light leads to photoreceptor cell apoptosis. In such a light-reared retina, we found that activated microglia invade the degenerating photoreceptor layer and alter expression...

Recent findings have suggested that aerobic exercise may have a positive effect on brain functioning, in addition to its well-recognized beneficial effects on human physiology. This study confirmed the cognitive effects of aerobic exercise on the human brain. It also examined the relationships between exercise and the serum levels of neurotrophic factors (BDNF, IGI-1, and VEGF). A total of 91 h...

Disturbed neural development has been postulated as a crucial factor in the pathophysiology of schizophrenic psychoses. The neurobiochemical basis for such changes of cytoarchitecture and changed neural plasticity could involve an alteration in the regulation of neurotrophic factors. In order to test this hypothesis, BDNF and NT-3 levels in post-mortem brain tissue from schizophrenic patients w...

Neurotrophins are important proteins that regulate survival, development and function of neurons. They are produced by a variety of cells and exert their effects upon binding to specific tyrosine kinase receptors. The first neurotrophin to be identified was Nerve Growth Factor (NGF). From the pioneer studies performed by Rita-Levi Montalcini, awarded with the Nobel Prize, other neurotrophins ha...

PURPOSE The skeletal muscle develops various degrees of atrophy and metabolic dysfunction following nerve injury. Neurotrophic factors are essential for muscle regeneration. Human amniotic fluid derived stem cells (AFS) have the potential to secrete various neurotrophic factors necessary for nerve regeneration. In the present study, we assess the outcome of neurological function by intramuscula...

During peripheral nervous system development, Schwann cells are precisely matched to the axons that they support. This is mediated by axonal neuregulins that are essential for Schwann cell survival and differentiation. Here, we show that sensory and motor axons rapidly release heparin-binding forms of neuregulin in response to Schwann cell-derived neurotrophic factors in a dose-dependent manner...

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited disorder characterized by neuronal dysfunction and degeneration in striatum and cerebral cortex. Although the signaling pathways involved in HD are not yet clearly elucidated, mutant huntingtin protein is a key factor in the induction of neurodegeneration. The mutant huntingtin protein alters intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis, disrupts intracellular traf...

Introduction: The lesser quantity products of reprogrammed stem cells and slower differentiation of stem cells into neurons have limited the advance of cell therapy in clinical applications. Neurotrophic factors BDNF, GDNF, FGF, and IGF are critical factors for further differentiation and proliferation of neuronal cells. However, the influence of the reprogramming genes on the neurotrophic fact...

Neurotrophic factor expression in the adult mammalian CNS is largely neuronal. However, upon traumatic injury reactive astrocytes express a number of neurotrophic factors including ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and NGF. In this study, we examined whether the upregulation of neurotrophic factors in reactive astrocytes and cultured astrocytes is a consequence...