title: Neurotrophins in the regulation of cellular survival and death.
abstract: The neurotrophins play crucial roles regulating survival and apoptosis in the developing and injured nervous system. The four neurotrophins exert profound and crucial survival effects on developing peripheral neurons, and their expression and action is intimately tied to successful innervation of peripheral targets. In the central nervous system, they are dispensable for neuronal survival during development but support neuronal survival after lesion or other forms of injury. Neurotrophins also regulate apoptosis of both peripheral and central neurons, and we now recognize that there are regulatory advantages to having the same molecules regulate life and death decisions. This chapter examines the biological contexts in which these events take place and highlights the specific ligands, receptors, and signaling mechanisms that allow them to occur.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neuronal Survival, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3A 2B4.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ceni
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Unsain
authors.forename: Michele P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Zeinieh
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Barker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002470:Cell Survival; D006801:Humans; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor / Q000502:physiology; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000502:physiology*; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000502:physiology; D020800:Receptor, Nerve Growth Factor / Q000502:physiology; D020917:Receptor, trkA / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D011498:Protein Precursors; D020800:Receptor, Nerve Growth Factor; C061397:pro-nerve growth factor, human; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor; D020917:Receptor, trkA