A model for neuronal competition during development.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 18323418.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.1152677 and PMC identifier 3612357.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
We report that developmental competition between sympathetic neurons for survival is critically dependent on a sensitization process initiated by target innervation and mediated by a series of feedback loops. Target-derived nerve growth factor (NGF) promoted expression of its own receptor TrkA in mouse and rat neurons and prolonged TrkA-mediated signals. NGF also controlled expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-4, which, through the receptor p75, can kill neighboring neurons with low retrograde NGF-TrkA signaling whereas neurons with high NGF-TrkA signaling are protected. Perturbation of any of these feedback loops disrupts the dynamics of competition. We suggest that three target-initiated events are essential for rapid and robust competition between neurons: sensitization, paracrine apoptotic signaling, and protection from such effects.
Medical subject headings
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
- Models, Neurological
- Nerve Growth Factor
- Neurons
- Receptor, trkA
- Superior Cervical Ganglion