Abstract
THE number of neurotrophic factors found in the central nervous system is rapidly growing, but their functions in vivo are largely unknown. In the peripheral nervous system they promote the survival of developing and lesioned neurons and enhance nerve fibre growth and regeneration1–6. Here we study the effects of nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) on the largest tract system leading from the brain to the spinal cord, the corticospinal tract (CST)7. The developing CST grows down the spinal cord during the first postnatal days and innervates its targets after a waiting period by collateral sprouting8–10. We find that NT-3 injected locally specifically enhances this sprouting, whereas BDNF has no effect. In adult rats, injection of NT-3 (but not BDNF) into the lesioned spinal cord increases the regenerative sprouting of the transected CST. The distance of growth of the sprouts is very restricted, but application of an antibody that neutralizes myelin-associated neurite growth inhibitory proteins11 results in long-distance regeneration of CST fibres.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barde, Y.-A. Neuron 2, 1525–1534 (1989).
Davies, A. M. & Lumdsen, M. E. A. Rev. Neurosci. 13, 61–73 (1990).
Diamond, J., Holmes, M. & Coughlin, M. J. Neurosci. 12, 1454–1466 (1992).
Oppenheim, R. W., Prevette, D., Quin-Wei, Y., Collins, F. & MacDonald, J. Science 251, 1616–1618 (1991).
Oppenheim, R. W., Quin-Wei, Y., Prevette, D. & Yan, Q. Nature 360, 755–757 (1992).
Sendtner, M., Kreutzberg, G. F. & Thoenen, H. Nature 345, 440–441 (1990).
Nudo, R. J. & Masterton, R. B. J. comp. Neurol. 277, 53–79 (1988).
Schreyer, D. J. & Jones, E. G. Neuroscience 7, 1837–1853 (1992).
O'Leaty, D. D. M. & Terashima, T. Neuron 1, 901–910 (1988).
Schwab, M. E. & Schnell, L. J. Neurosci. 11, 709–722 (1991).
Caroni, P. & Schwab, M. E. Neuron 1, 85–96 (1988).
Bregman, B. S., Kunkel-Bagden, E., McAtee, M. & O'Neill, A. J. comp. Neurol. 282, 355–370 (1989).
Schnell, L. & Schwab, M. E. Nature 343, 269–272 (1990).
Schnell, L. & Schwab, M. E. Eur. J. Neurosci. 5, 1156–1171 (1993).
Kunkel-Bagden, E. et al. Neurosci. Abstr. 19, 681 (1993).
Maisonpierre, P. C. et al. Neuron 5, 501–509 (1990).
Ernfors, P. & Persson, H. Eur. J. Neurosci. 3, 953–961 (1991).
Friedman, W. J., Olson, L. & Persson, H. Eur. J. Neurosci. 3, 688–697 (1991).
Casale, E. J., Light, A. R. & Rustioni, A. J. comp. Neurol. 278, 275–286 (1988).
Romanes, G. J. Progr. Brain. Res. 11, 93–116 (1964).
Heffner, C. D., Lumsden, A. G. S. & O'Leary, D. D. M. Science 247, 217–220 (1990).
Ringstedt, T., Lagercrantz, H. & Persson, H. Devl Brain Res. 72, 119–131 (1993).
Merlio, J.-P., Emfors, P., Jaber, M. & Persson, H. Neuroscience 51, 513–532 (1992).
Altar, C. A., Criden, M. R., Lindsay, R. M. & DiStefano, P. S. J. Neurosci. 13, 733–743 (1993).
Ramon y Cajal, S. Degeneration and Regeneration of the Nervous System (Hafner, New York, 1959).
Schwab, M. E., Kapfhammer, J. P. & Bandtlow, C. E. A. Rev. Neurosci. 16, 565–595 (1993).
Götz, R., Kolbeck, R., Lottspeich, F. & Barde, Y.-A. Eur. J. Biochem. 204, 745–749 (1992).
Dechant, G. et al. Development 119, 545–558 (1993).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schnell, L., Schneider, R., Kolbeck, R. et al. Neurotrophin-3 enhances sprouting of corticospinal tract during development and after adult spinal cord lesion. Nature 367, 170–173 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/367170a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/367170a0
This article is cited by
-
Enhancing structural plasticity of PC12 neurons during differentiation and neurite regeneration with a catalytically inactive mutant version of the zRICH protein
BMC Neuroscience (2023)
-
Regulation of axonal regeneration after mammalian spinal cord injury
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology (2023)
-
Biomimetic nerve guidance conduit containing engineered exosomes of adipose-derived stem cells promotes peripheral nerve regeneration
Stem Cell Research & Therapy (2021)
-
Transneuronal delivery of hyper-interleukin-6 enables functional recovery after severe spinal cord injury in mice
Nature Communications (2021)
-
Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell–Derived Exosomes Attenuate Blood–Spinal Cord Barrier Disruption via the TIMP2/MMP Pathway After Acute Spinal Cord Injury
Molecular Neurobiology (2021)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.