Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 28, 2026
07:43
Preparation and Maintenance of Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurons in Compartmented Cultures
Published on: October 17, 2008
Neurotrophins are required for nerve growth during development
K L Tucker1, M Meyer, Y A Barde
1Department of Neurobiochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Am Klopferspitz 18a, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
Nature Neuroscience
|January 3, 2001
Summary
Neurotrophins are essential for peripheral nervous system development, guiding both sensory and motor axon growth during embryonic development. This study highlights their crucial role in nerve elongation and guidance.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Neurotrophins are known to prevent cell death in the peripheral nervous system.
- The precise role of neurotrophins in regulating nerve growth remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the physiological involvement of neurotrophins in nerve growth during embryonic development.
- To visualize and analyze the growth patterns of motor and sensory axons in vivo.
Main Methods:
- Generation of a transgenic mouse model expressing green fluorescent protein in post-mitotic neurons for axonal visualization.
- In vivo imaging of motor and sensory axon growth in embryonic limb buds.
- Experimental manipulation using neurotrophin-containing beads and function-blocking antibodies.
Main Results:
- Sensory axons, but not motor axons, preferentially targeted neurotrophin-supplemented beads.
- A combination of antibodies blocking NGF, BDNF, and NT-3 significantly inhibited both sensory and motor axon elongation.
- These findings demonstrate a critical dependence of mixed nerve growth on neurotrophins.
Conclusions:
- Neurotrophins play a vital role in promoting the elongation of both sensory and motor axons during peripheral nerve development.
- The study provides in vivo evidence for the direct involvement of neurotrophins in regulating nerve growth, beyond their known function in cell survival.
Related Concept Videos
01:00Enzyme-linked Receptors
Enzyme-linked receptors are proteins that act as both receptor and enzyme, activating multiple intracellular signals. This is a large group of receptors that include the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family. Many growth factors and hormones bind to and activate the RTKs.
Neurotrophin (NT) receptors are a family of RTKs, including trkA, trkB, and trkC (tropomyosin-related kinase) receptors. TrkA is specific for nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-6, and neurotrophin-7. TrkB binds...
Neurotrophin (NT) receptors are a family of RTKs, including trkA, trkB, and trkC (tropomyosin-related kinase) receptors. TrkA is specific for nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-6, and neurotrophin-7. TrkB binds...
01:30Neurulation
Neurulation is the embryological process which forms the precursors of the central nervous system and occurs after gastrulation has established the three primary cell layers of the embryo: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. In humans, the majority of this system is formed via primary neurulation, in which the central portion of the ectoderm—originally appearing as a flat sheet of cells—folds upwards and inwards, sealing off to form a hollow neural tube. As development proceeds, the anterior...
03:14Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch signaling pathway is a major intracellular signaling pathway that is highly conserved over a broad spectrum of metazoan species. It stands unique from other intracellular signaling mechanisms in animals because notch protein itself acts as the receptor as well as the primary signaling molecule.
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
01:25Nervous Tissue: Myelin
The myelin sheath is a multilayered lipid and protein covering that insulates the axon of a neuron, enhancing the speed of nerve impulse conduction. Axons without this sheath are referred to as unmyelinated. Two types of neuroglia, Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) are responsible for producing myelin sheaths.
Schwann cells begin to form myelin sheaths around axons during fetal development. They wrap around a small...
Schwann cells begin to form myelin sheaths around axons during fetal development. They wrap around a small...
01:15Neurogenesis and Regeneration of Nervous Tissue
In the CNS, neurogenesis, the birth of new neurons from stem cells, is limited to the hippocampus in adults. In other regions of the brain and spinal cord, neurogenesis is almost non-existent due to inhibitory influences from neuroglia, especially oligodendrocytes, and the absence of growth-stimulating cues. The myelin produced by oligodendrocytes in the CNS inhibits neuronal regeneration. Furthermore, astrocytes proliferate rapidly after neuronal damage, forming scar tissue that physically...
01:01Neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.