title: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-4 increase neurotrophin-3 expression in the rat hippocampus.
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 neutrotrophin-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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lindholm
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: da Penha Berzaghi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thoenen
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Castrén
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015870:Gene Expression; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger