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Neurotrophins and theirtrk receptors in cultured cells of the glial lineage and in white matter of the central nervous system

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Abstract

Previous studies have analyzed the expression of different members of the neurotrophin family and theirtrk receptors in glial cultures composed mainly or exclusively of type-1 astrocytes, whereas only partial data have been published on other cultured glial types. In this article we compare the mRNA levels for neurotrophins (NGF, BDNF, NT-3, NT-4) and their high-affinity receptors (trkA,trkB,trkC) in cultures enriched in specific glial types, such as microglia, type-1 astroglia, and cells of the O/2A lineage (type-2 astroglia and oligodendroglia). Relatively high levels of NGF mRNA (comparable to those observed in adult rat cerebral cortex) are present in all types of cultured glial cells, except for a low level of expression in cultures enriched in microglial cells. In contrast, BDNF mRNA is undetectable in all cultures examined. NT-3 and NT-4 mRNA molecules, at a level equal to that observed in adult rat cerebral cortex, are easily detected in type-1 astrocyte cultures, whereas their hybridization signals are undetectable in cells of the O/2A lineage and in microglial cultures. The analysis of neurotrophin receptor mRNAs confirms the absence oftrkA mRNA, the presence of relatively high levels oftrkB mRNA (70–100% of cerebral cortex values), and low levels oftrkC mRNA (10–18% of cerebral cortex values) in both cultured astroglial and oligodendroglial cells. Only very low levels oftrkB andtrkC mRNAs are observed in microglial cultures. Although cultured glial cells express mainly mRNAs encoding for the truncated form oftrkB andtrkC, a low level of mRNA encoding for the full-length catalytic form of these receptors is detected by the sensitive ribonuclease protection assay. However, NT-3 and NT-4 increasezif/268 expression in oligodendroglial cultures, but not in type-1 astroglial cultures. The presence of these transcripts has been also examined in white matter regions that are devoid of neuronal cell bodies and enriched in glial cells (optic nerve and the corpus callosum). Both corpus callosum and optic nerve show the presence of NGF, NT-3, and NT-4 mRNA, whereas BDNF mRNA level is very low or undetectable;trkA mRNA is absent, although both the truncated and full-lengthtrkB andtrkC mRNA are detected. In conclusion, in vivo (central nervous system white matter) and in vitro (glial cultures) results support the hypothesis that cells of the glial lineage can be both a source of neurotrophins and a cellular target for their actions.

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Author notes

  1. Natale Belluardo

    Present address: Institutes of Human Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Catania, Italy

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biochemistry, University of Catania, Italy

    Daniele F. Condorelli & Massimo Corsaro

  2. Institutes of Human Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Catania, Italy

    Giuseppa Mudò

  3. Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    Tuija Salin, Tonis Timmusk & Madis Metsis

  4. Istituto di Bioimmagini e Fisiopatologia del SNC, CNR, Catania, Italy

    Paola Dell’Albani

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  1. Daniele F. Condorelli
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  2. Tuija Salin
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  3. Paola Dell’Albani
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  4. Giuseppa Mudò
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  6. Tonis Timmusk
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  8. Natale Belluardo
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Condorelli, D.F., Salin, T., Dell’Albani, P. et al. Neurotrophins and theirtrk receptors in cultured cells of the glial lineage and in white matter of the central nervous system. J Mol Neurosci 6, 237–248 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02736783

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02736783

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