No abstract

In response to injury and inflammation of the CNS, brain cells including microglia and astrocytes secrete tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF). This pro-inflammatory cytokine has been implicated in both neuronal cell death and survival. We now provide evidence that TNF affects the formation of neurites. Neurons cultured on astrocytic glial cells exhibited reduced outgrowth and branching of neurites after addition of recombinant TNF or prestimulation of glial cells to secrete TNF. This effect was absent in neurons of TNF receptor-deficient mice cultured on prestimulated glia of wild-type mice and was reverted by blocking TNF with soluble TNF receptor IgG fusion protein. TNF activated in neurons the small GTPase RhoA. By inactivating Rho with C3 transferase, the inhibitory effect of TNF on neurite outgrowth and branching was abolished. These results suggest that glia-derived TNF, as part of an injury or inflammatory process, can inhibit neurite elongation and branching during development and regeneration.

Neurotrophins are involved in the modulation of synaptic transmission, including the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) through the receptor TrkB. Because previous studies have revealed a bidirectional mode of neurotrophin action by virtue of signaling through either the neurotrophin receptor p75 NTR or the Trk receptors, we tested the hypothesis that p75 NTR is important for longterm depression (LTD) to occur. Although LTP was found to be unaffected in hippocampal slices of two different strains of mice carrying mutations of the p75 NTR gene, hippocampal LTD was impaired in both p75 NTR -deficient mouse strains. Furthermore, the expression levels of two (RS)-␣-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunits, GluR2 and GluR3, but not GluR1 or GluR4, were found to be significantly altered in the hippocampus of p75 NTR -deficient mice. These results implicate p75 NTR in activity-dependent synaptic plasticity and extend the concept of functional antagonism of the neurotrophin signaling system.neurotrophins ͉ p75 neurotrophin receptor ͉ synaptic plasticity N eurotrophins form a small family of dimeric, secretory proteins that exert a broad spectrum of functions on vertebrate neurons. In particular, they are well known for regulating cell fate and cell shape (1, 2). They transduce their effects by binding to two different classes of receptor proteins, the receptor tyrosine kinases of the Trk family (3) and the neurotrophin receptor p75 NTR (4,5). This dual receptor system allows for the transduction of a wide array of signals after ligand binding, which can even be antagonistic. Although the best known trophic functions of neurotrophins are mediated by one of the three Trk receptors, p75 NTR has been implicated in the death of neurons in a variety of CNS areas, including the retina (6), the developing spinal cord (7), and the septal nucleus (8). More recently, p75 NTR has been linked with inhibition of axonal elongation (9, 10). Conversely, Trk receptors are essential for neurotrophin-promoted neurite growth (3).Beyond the regulation of cell fate and shape, neurotrophins and their receptors have emerged as major modulators of synaptic transmission and plasticity. Neurotrophins are secreted by neurons in an activity-dependent fashion (11-13), and numerous studies have indicated a crucial role for BDNF and its receptor TrkB in hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP). Lack of BDNF, due to either gene or protein inactivation, leads to a profound inhibition of LTP (14-17), whereas addition of BDNF to hippocampal slices isolated from WT animals results in a long-lasting enhancement of synaptic transmission (18). This effect of BDNF on LTP is thought to be mediated by TrkB because this receptor is required for the establishment of LTP (19,20).Much less is known about the role of p75 NTR in synaptic plasticity. Blocking p75 NTR with antibodies does not interfere with the induction of LTP in adult mice (20). However, deletion of p75 NTR has been shown to improve spatial learning (21). Furth...

Apolipoprotein D (ApoD) is an ancient member of the lipocalin family with a high degree of sequence conservation from insects to mammals. It is not structurally related to other major apolipoproteins and has been known as a small, soluble carrier protein of lipophilic molecules that is mostly expressed in neurons and glial cells within the central and peripheral nervous system. Recent data indicate that ApoD not only supplies cells with lipophilic molecules, but also controls the fate of these ligands by modulating their stability and oxidation status. Of particular interest is the binding of ApoD to arachidonic acid and its derivatives, which play a central role in healthy brain function. ApoD has been shown to act as a catalyst in the reduction of peroxidized eicosanoids and to attenuate lipid peroxidation in the brain. Manipulating its expression level in fruit flies and mice has demonstrated that ApoD has a favorable effect on both stress resistance and life span. The APOD gene is the gene that is upregulated the most in the aging human brain. Furthermore, ApoD levels in the nervous system are elevated in a large number of neurologic disorders including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and stroke. There is increasing evidence for a prominent neuroprotective role of ApoD because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. ApoD emerges as an evolutionarily conserved anti-stress protein that is induced by oxidative stress and inflammation and may prove to be an effective therapeutic agent against a variety of neuropathologies, and even against aging.