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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]
Heteropaternal superfecundation is common in animals such as cats and dogs. Stray dogs can produce litters in which every puppy has a different sire. Though rare in humans, cases have been documented. In one study on humans, the frequency was 2.4% among dizygotic twins whose parents had been involved in paternity suits. [6]
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 development of the nervous system in humans, or neural development, or neurodevelopment involves the studies of embryology, developmental biology, and neuroscience.These describe the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which the complex nervous system forms in humans, develops during prenatal development, and continues to develop postnatally.
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.
Several motorneurons compete for each neuromuscular junction, but only one survives until adulthood. [37] Competition in vitro has been shown to involve a limited neurotrophic substance that is released, or that neural activity infers advantage to strong post-synaptic connections by giving resistance to a toxin also released upon nerve stimulation.
For instance, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is produced by the brain and regulates several functions within the developing synapse, including enhancement of transmitter release, increased concentration of vesicles, and cholesterol biosynthesis. Cholesterol is essential to synaptogenesis because the lipid rafts that it forms provide a ...
Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the GDNF gene. [5] GDNF is a small protein that potently promotes the survival of many types of neurons. [6] It signals through GFRα receptors, particularly GFRα1.