Nerve growth factor levels in developing rat skin: upregulation following skin wounding.
Levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) in rat hindpaw skin, measured with a sensitive two-site enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, show two peaks during normal development. The first (57 +/- 5 pg mg-1) occurs at embryonic days (E) 18-20 and coincides with the arrival of axon terminals into the hindpaw skin. The second, larger peak (132 +/- 10 pg mg-1), occurs later, around postnatal day (P) 21 and may be involved in maintenance of neuronal phenotype. Levels outside the two peaks stay relatively constant throughout development (30 pg mg-1). Skin wounding at birth produces a marked increase in NGF levels (149 +/- 25 pg mg-1) which declines after 4 days. This large increase is not observed if wounding is performed at older ages and may underlie the sensory hyperinnervation that accompanies neonatal wounds.
Constantinou
J
J
Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College, London, UK.
Reynolds
M L
ML
Woolf
C J
CJ
Safieh-Garabedian
B
B
Fitzgerald
M
M
D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005528:Foot; D006614:Hindlimb; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats / Q000196:embryology; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012867:Skin / Q000196:embryology / Q000293:injuries* / Q000378:metabolism*
D009414:Nerve Growth Factors