RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Neurotrophin-3, and Neurotrophin-4 Complement and Cooperate with Each Other Sequentially during Visceral Neuron Development
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 8667
OP 8675
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-22-08667.1997
VO 17
IS 22
A1 Wael M. ElShamy
A1 Patrik Ernfors
YR 1997
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/17/22/8667.abstract
AB The neurotrophins nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT3), and neurotrophin-4 (NT4) are crucial target-derived factors controlling the survival of peripheral sensory neurons during the embryonic period of programmed cell death. Recently, NT3 has also been found to act in a local manner on somatic sensory precursor cells during early development in vivo. Culture studies suggest that these cells switch dependency to NGF at later stages. The neurotrophins acting on the developing placode-derived visceral nodose/petrosal (N/P) ganglion neurons are BDNF, NT3, and NT4. To assess their roles in development, we analyzed embryonic development in mice carrying a deletion in each of these genes, or combinations of them, and found that they are essential in preventing the death of N/P ganglion neurons during different periods of embryogenesis. Both NT3 and NT4 are crucial during the period of ganglion formation, whereas BDNF acts later in development. Many, but not all, of the NT3- and NT4-dependent neurons switch to BDNF at later stages. We conclude that most of the N/P ganglion neurons depend on more than one neurotrophin and that they act in a complementary as well as a collaborative manner in a developmental sequence for the establishment of a full complement of visceral neurons.