Neurotrophic Factors, Their Receptors, and the Signal Transduction Pathways They Activate
This extract was created in the absence of an abstract.
Excerpt
The development and maintenance of the vertebrate nervous system depends on neuronal survival proteins known as neurotrophic factors (for review, see Snider and Johnson 1989). Nerve growth factor (NGF) remains the best-characterized neurotrophic factor. Understanding the role and action of NGF has been aided greatly by the apparently fortuitous discovery of a rich source of this protein in male mouse submaxillary glands, which led to the generation of NGF-neutralizing antibodies as well as the molecular cloning of NGF (Scott et al. 1983; Ullrich et al. 1983). Monoclonal antibodies to the receptor for NGF permitted the cloning of one component of this receptor (Chao et al. 1986; Radeke et al. 1987); this transmembrane protein can mediate low-affinity binding to NGF when expressed alone but can interact with other molecules to generate a high-affinity NGF-binding site (Hempstead et al. 1989). The various reagents and molecular probes for the study of NGF and...
