title: The conservation of neurotrophic factors during vertebrate evolution.
abstract: Neurotrophic factors are a family of extracellular ligands that affect the differentiation, survival (by inhibition of apoptosis) and maintenance of function of neuronal cells in vertebrates. The family includes nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5). The survival specificities of NGF and BDNF for different classes of chick neurons are maintained from the fish to the mammalian proteins, implying a conserved interaction with neuronal cell surface receptors (of the Trk family). However, the quantitative effect of a fish neurotrophin can differ significantly from that of the mammalian orthologue.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry, Department of Neurochemistry, Martinsried, F.R.G.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Götz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schartl
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D020933:Neurotrophin 3; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D020933:Neurotrophin 3; C071951:neurotrophin 5; C073922:neurotrophin 4