title: Nerve growth factor receptor mRNA distribution in human brain: normal levels in basal forebrain in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor mRNA was found to be widely distributed throughout the human central nervous system, with the highest levels in the basal forebrain; this suggests that NGF may function as a retrograde trophic messenger for basal forebrain magnocellular cholinergic nerve cells. The degeneration of the latter constitutes one of the main features of Alzheimer's disease and it may be responsible for some of the cognitive impairment that characterizes the disease. No evidence was obtained for an insufficient synthesis of NGF receptor mRNA in the basal forebrain in Alzheimer's disease, where NGF receptor-like immunoreactivity was confined to neuronal cell bodies. NGF could thus be therapeutically beneficial. It could be expected to induce basal forebrain cholinergic cells to hypertrophy, synthesize more choline acetyltransferase and extend neurites.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, U.K.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goedert
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fine
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dawbarn
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Wilcock
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Chao
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics*; D017475:Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D017475:Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor