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First published online September 30, 2004

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NGF and the immune system

Nerve growth factor (NGF) and its receptors are best known for regulating development in the mammalian nervous system. Now, on p. 5185, Coppola and colleagues use a reverse conditional gene targeting strategy in mice to show that the NGF/TrkA receptor system also modulates immunological functions. Previous work has hinted that NGF/TrkA is required for a healthy immune system. Immunodepletion of NGF in mice, for example, causes major immunological abnormalities. However, this phenotype could be indirectly caused by neural system abnormalities rather than by intrinsic effects of NGF/TrkA on the immune system. To distinguish between these possibilities, the researchers genetically activated TrkA in the neuronal structures only of TrkA-null mice. The result: grossly normal mice containing all the major immune system cell populations, but with defects in immunoglobulin production and B cell number with aging. Thus, although the NGF/TrkA system is dispensable for lymphoid system development, it directly modulates immunological functions in adult animals.

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Ablation of TrkA function in the immune system causes B cell abnormalities

Vincenzo Coppola, Colleen A. Barrick, Eileen A. Southon, Arkady Celeste, Kathryn Wang, Bei Chen, El-Bdaoui Haddad, Jian Yin, Andre Nussenzweig, Arun Subramaniam, and Lino Tessarollo
Development 2004 131: 5185-5195. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?