Fleming Carolina E, Mar Fernando Milhazes, Franquinho Filipa, Sousa Mónica M
Nerve Regeneration Group, Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular-IBMC, Porto, Portugal.
Int Rev Neurobiol. 2009;87:337-46. doi: 10.1016/S0074-7742(09)87017-7.
Transthyretin (TTR), a plasma and cerebrospinal fluid protein secreted by the liver and choroid plexus, is mainly known as the physiological carrier of thyroxine (T(4)) and retinol. Under pathological conditions, various TTR mutations are related to familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by deposition of TTR amyloid fibrils, particularly in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), leading to axonal loss and neuronal death. Recently, a number of TTR functions in neurobiology have been described; these may explain the preferential TTR deposition, when mutated, in the PNS of FAP patients. In this respect, and with a particular relevance in the PNS, TTR has been shown to have the ability to enhance neurite outgrowth in vitro and nerve regeneration following injury, in vivo. In the following pages, this novel TTR function, as well as its importance in nerve biology and repair will be discussed.
转甲状腺素蛋白（TTR）是一种由肝脏和脉络丛分泌的血浆和脑脊液蛋白，主要作为甲状腺素（T4）和视黄醇的生理载体为人所知。在病理条件下，各种TTR突变与家族性淀粉样多神经病（FAP）有关，FAP是一种神经退行性疾病，其特征是TTR淀粉样原纤维沉积，特别是在周围神经系统（PNS），导致轴突丧失和神经元死亡。最近，已经描述了TTR在神经生物学中的一些功能；这些功能可能解释了FAP患者发生突变时TTR在PNS中优先沉积的原因。在这方面，并且特别与PNS相关的是，已证明TTR在体外具有促进神经突生长的能力，在体内具有促进损伤后神经再生的能力。在接下来的几页中，将讨论这种新的TTR功能及其在神经生物学和修复中的重要性。
