We previously reported that the precursor form of nerve growth factor (pro-NGF) and not mature NGF is liberated in the CNS in an activity-dependent manner, and that its maturation and degradation occur in the extracellular space by the coordinated action of proteases.Here, we present evidence of diminished conversion of pro-NGF to its mature form and of greater NGF degradation in Alzheimer dise...

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophic cytokine known to regulate the survival and function of peripheral and central neuronal cells. Recently, the spectrum of action could be extended to non-neuronal cell types such as rat mast cells and human B lymphocytes. The present study shows that NGF affects the function of mature human basophils isolated from the peripheral blood of healthy donors...

Levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) are elevated in inflamed tissues. In sensory neurons, increases in NGF augment neuronal sensitivity (sensitization) to noxious stimuli. Here, we hypothesized that NGF also sensitizes sympathetic neurons to proinflammatory stimuli. We cultured superior cervical ganglion (SCG) neurons from adult male Sprague Dawley rats with or without added NGF and compared th...

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a polypeptide that is required for normal development and maintenance of the sympathetic and sensory nervous systems. Skin has been shown to contain relatively high amounts of NGF, which is in keeping with the finding that the quantity of NGF in a tissue is proportional to the extent of sympathetic innervation of that organ. Since the keratinocyte, a major cellular ...

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin implicated in intestinal pathophysiology, such as impaired barrier function, altered motility and a lowered threshold to noxious stimuli in colitis. We evaluated the cellular source of NGF and determined the effect of inflammation on its expression in TNBS-induced colitis in the rat. Receptors for NGF were studied by immunocytochemistry, showing that ...

Nerve growth factor (NGF), a member of the neurotrophin family, is crucial for survival of nociceptive neurons during development. Recently, it has been shown to play an important role in nociceptive function in adults. NGF is up-regulated after inflammatory injury of the skin. Administration of exogenous NGF either systemically or in the skin causes thermal hyperalgesia within minutes. Mast ce...

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is necessary for the development of sympathetic and some sensory neurons. Milk may be a source of NGF for suckling young, but sites of intestinal absorption of the protein have not been identified. To determine whether NGF is transported across the absorptive epithelium of suckling rat ileum, we assessed binding, uptake, and transport of 125I-NGF by light microscopy an...

Nerve growth factor (NGF) was discovered because of its neurotrophic actions on sympathetic and sensory neurons in the developing chicken embryo. NGF was subsequently found to influence and regulate the function of many neuronal and non neuronal cells in adult organisms. Little is known, however, about the possible actions of NGF during early embryonic stages. However, mRNAs encoding for NGF an...

The molecular mechanisms of migraine pain are incompletely understood, although migraine mediators such as NGF and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) are believed to play an algogenic role. Although NGF block is proposed as a novel analgesic approach, its consequences on nociceptive purinergic P2X receptors of trigeminal ganglion neurons remain unknown. We investigated whether neutralizing ...

INTRODUCTION Since its discovery several decades ago, nerve growth factor (NGF) has been found to play roles in different areas, such as neurology, endocrinology, and immunology. There is some evidence linking NGF and psychiatry, including the role of NGF in subjects' response to stress, the alteration of NGF in different emotional states, and the penetration of NGF across the blood-brain barri...