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According to the United States National Library of Medicine's medical subject headings, the term neurotrophin may be used as a synonym for neurotrophic factor, [5] but the term neurotrophin is more generally reserved for four structurally related factors: nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), and neurotrophin-4 (NT-4). [6]
According to the neurotrophic hypothesis, growing axons compete for limiting amounts of target-derived trophic factors and axons that fail to receive sufficient trophic support die by apoptosis. It is now clear that factors produced by a number of sources contribute to neuronal survival.
Neurotrophic factors also promote the initial growth and development of neurons in the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system, and they are capable of regrowing damaged neurons in test tubes and animal models. [1] [4] Some neurotrophic factors are also released by the target tissue in order to guide the growth of developing axons.
The GDNF family of ligands (GFL) consists of four neurotrophic factors: glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), neurturin (NRTN), artemin (ARTN), and persephin (PSPN). GFLs have been shown to play a role in a number of biological processes including cell survival, neurite outgrowth, cell differentiation and cell migration.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), or abrineurin, [5] is a protein [6] that, in humans, is encoded by the BDNF gene. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] BDNF is a member of the neurotrophin family of growth factors, which are related to the canonical nerve growth factor (NGF), a family which also includes NT-3 and NT-4 /NT-5.
Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophic factor and neuropeptide primarily involved in the regulation of growth, maintenance, proliferation, and survival of certain target neurons. It is perhaps the prototypical growth factor , in that it was one of the first to be described.
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Tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), [5] [6] [7] also known as tyrosine receptor kinase B, or BDNF/NT-3 growth factors receptor or neurotrophic tyrosine kinase, receptor, type 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the NTRK2 gene. [8] TrkB is a receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).