Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-4 increase neurotrophin-3 expression in the rat hippocampus

Dan Lindholm, Maria da Penha Berzaghi, Jonathan Cooper, Hans Thoenen, Eero Castrén

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

43 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hippocampal levels of mRNA encoding nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are rapidly induced by enhanced neuronal activity following seizures and glutamate or muscarinic receptor activation. However, the levels of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) mRNA acutely decrease after limbic seizures suggesting that a different mode of regulation may exist for these neurotrophins. Here we show that BDNF and neurotrophin-4 (NT-4), but not NT-3 itself, up-regulate NT-3 mRNA in cultured hippocampal neurons. In the rat hippocampus, the muscarinic receptor agonist, pilocarpine increased BDNF mRNA levels rapidly and those of NT-3 with a delay of several hours. Injection of BDNF into neonatal rats elevated NT-3 mRNA in the hippocampus which demonstrates that BDNF is able to enhance NT-3 expression in vivo. The regulation of NT-3 by BDNF and NT-4 enlargens the neurotrophic spectrum of these neurotrophins to include neuron populations responsive primarily to NT-3.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)745-751
Number of pages7
JournalInternational Journal of Developmental Neuroscience
Volume12
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1994

Keywords

  • BDNF
  • NT-3
  • NT-4
  • neurotrophins
  • trk receptors

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