Vega José A, García-Suárez Olivia, Hannestad Jonas, Pérez-Pérez Marta, Germanà Antonino
Departamento de Morfología y Biología Celular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
J Anat. 2003 Jul;203(1):1-19. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-7580.2003.00203.x.
The neurotrophins are a family of polypeptide growth factors that are essential for the development and maintenance of the vertebrate nervous system. In recent years, data have emerged indicating that neurotrophins could have a broader role than their name might suggest. In particular, the putative role of NGF and its receptor TrkA in immune system homeostasis has become a much studied topic, whereas information on the other neurotrophins is scarce in this regard. This paper reviews what is known about the expression and possible functions of neurotrophins and their receptors in different immune tissues and cells, as well as recent data obtained from studies of transgenic mice in our laboratory. Results from studies to date support the idea that neurotrophins may regulate some immune functions. They also play an important role in the development of the thymus and in the survival of thymocytes.
神经营养因子是一类多肽生长因子，对脊椎动物神经系统的发育和维持至关重要。近年来，有数据表明神经营养因子的作用可能比其名称所暗示的更为广泛。特别是，神经生长因子（NGF）及其受体酪氨酸激酶A（TrkA）在免疫系统稳态中的假定作用已成为一个备受研究的课题，而关于其他神经营养因子在这方面的信息却很少。本文综述了关于神经营养因子及其受体在不同免疫组织和细胞中的表达及可能功能的已知信息，以及我们实验室对转基因小鼠研究获得的最新数据。迄今为止的研究结果支持神经营养因子可能调节某些免疫功能的观点。它们在胸腺发育和胸腺细胞存活中也发挥着重要作用。
