title: Interplay between thyroxin, BDNF and GABA in injured neurons.
abstract: Accumulating experimental evidence suggests that groups of neurons in the CNS might react to pathological insults by activating developmental-like programs for survival, regeneration and re-establishment of lost connections. For instance, in cell and animal models it was shown that after trauma mature central neurons become dependent on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) trophic support for survival. This event is preceded by a shift of postsynaptic GABAA receptor-mediated responses from hyperpolarization to developmental-like depolarization. These profound functional changes in GABAA receptor-mediated transmission and the requirement of injured neurons for BDNF trophic support are interdependent. Thyroid hormones (THs) play a crucial role in the development of the nervous system, having significant effects on dendritic branching, synaptogenesis and axonal growth to name a few. In the adult nervous system TH thyroxin has been shown to have a neuroprotective effect and to promote regeneration in experimental trauma models. Interestingly, after trauma there is a qualitative change in the regulatory effect of thyroxin on BDNF expression as well as on GABAergic transmission. In this review we provide an overview of the post-traumatic changes in these signaling systems and discuss the potential significance of their interactions for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Sciences, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland. anastasia.shulga@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shulga
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rivera
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000378:metabolism*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000378:metabolism*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D013974:Thyroxine