title: Crucial roles of NGF in dorsal horn plasticity in partially deafferentated cats.
abstract: Though exogenous nerve growth factor (NGF) has been implicated in spinal cord plasticity, whether endogenous NGF plays a crucial role has not been established in vivo. This study investigated first the role of endogenous NGF in spinal dorsal horn (DH) plasticity following removal of L1-L5 and L7-S2 dorsal root ganglions (DRGs) in cats. Co-culture of chick embryo DRG with DH condition media, protein band fishing by cells as well as western blot showed that NGF could promote neurite growth in vitro. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization technique revealed an increase in the NGF and NGF mRNA immunoreactive cells in the DH after partial deafferentation. Lastly, after blocking with NGF antibody, choleragen subunit B horseradish peroxidase (CB-HRP) tracing showed a reduction in the neuronal sprouting observed in the DH. Our results demonstrated that in the cat, endogenous NGF plays a crucial role in DH plasticity after partial deafferentation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurological Disease, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shan-Shan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qi-Qin
authors.initials: QQ
authors.lastname: Dan
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rong
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Lian-Feng
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ting-Hua
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002415:Cats; D002642:Chick Embryo; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000601:surgery*; D015171:Ganglionectomy; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D020671:Posterior Horn Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D020932:Nerve Growth Factor