Editorial for the special issue neurotrophic factors
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EDITORIAL
Editorial for the special issue neurotrophic factors Mart Saarma1 · William Mobley2 · Volkmar Leßmann3,4 Published online: 25 September 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
This “Cell and Tissue Research” Special Issue focuses on the cell biology of neurotrophic factors. Why this is important? Neurotrophic factors (NTFs) are secreted proteins that by binding to their specific receptors on the plasma membrane of neurons activate intracellular signalling pathways that regulate several key aspects of neuronal structure and function as well as survival. Four classes of neurotrophic factors have been characterized so far. The oldest is the neurotrophin family represented by the first growth factor described – nerve growth factor (NGF)—and by the most studied trophic factor brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Other members of the neurotrophin family are neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and neurotrophin-4 (NT-4/5). The second family of NTFs is heralded by the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) whose biology has been much studied, in part because it has special relevance to dopamine neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta that degenerate in Parkinson’s disease. Several clinical trials have explored GDNF actions in Parkinson’s disease patients. Other members of the GDNF family of ligands (GFLs) are neurturin (NRTN), artemin (ARTN) and persephin (PSPN). The most recent addition to the family, Growth/Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF15), shows structural similarity and uses the same receptor system as other members of the GDNF family. The neuropoetic cytokine (neurokine) family (also known as interleukin 6 (IL-6)) or glycoprotein 130 (GP130) consists of several factors, of which the best known are IL-6, ciliary
* Mart Saarma [email protected] 1
Institute of Biotechnology, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
2
Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
3
Institut für Physiologie, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
4
Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and the cardiotropins 1 and 2 (CT1 and CT2). The cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF)— mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) (CDNF-MANF)—family of neurotrophic factors is the newest defined and evolutionarily most conserved. Interestingly, this family differs significantly from the others by its members acting not only after secretion but also, and mostly, inside the cells in the endoplasmic reticulum. Neurotrophin, GFL and neurokine family members signal through the transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases or through receptors that interact with kinases. The specific neuronal populations responsive to neurotrophic factors express cognate receptors at the cell surface whose activation acts through well-defined pathways to trigger a wide variety of biological responses. Events are registered in the cytosol, ranging from changes in t
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