title: The effects of neurotrophin-3 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor on cerebellar granule cell movement and neurite extension in vitro.
abstract: Migration of the granule cells is a major stage of cerebellar maturation. Granule cells express neurotrophins and their receptors; however, their role in cell migration has not been defined. In this study we investigated the effects of exogenous neurotrophins on the movement and neurite extension of granule cells from glial-free cerebellar cell reaggregates in vitro. Our results provide direct evidence that neurotrophin-3 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor differentially affect the granule cells. Neurotrophin-3 significantly affected granule cell movements by decreasing the migration index (the ratio of the number of cells that moved further than half the neurite length) and the speed of cell soma movement, but did not affect neurite length or growth cone migration. In contrast, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-4 acted on growing neurites and growth cones by significantly increasing neurite length and the speed of growth cone migration, but had no effect either on the migration index or on the speed of the cell soma movement. The results suggest that neurotrophins differentially affect neurite extension and the movements of cerebellar granule cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Gunma University School of Medicine, 3-39-22, Showa-machi, Maebashi, 371-8511, Gunma, Japan. satoshit@akagi.sb.gunma-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sekino
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shirao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002449:Cell Aggregation / Q000187:drug effects; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D008938:Mitosis / Q000187:drug effects; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology; D016501:Neurites / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D020933:Neurotrophin 3 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D020933:Neurotrophin 3; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor; C073922:neurotrophin 4