Chowdary Praveen D, Che Dung L, Cui Bianxiao
Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, California 94305, USA.
Annu Rev Phys Chem. 2012;63:571-94. doi: 10.1146/annurev-physchem-032511-143704. Epub 2012 Jan 30.
Neurotrophins are a family of target-derived growth factors that support survival, development, and maintenance of innervating neurons. Owing to the unique architecture of neurons, neurotrophins that act locally on the axonal terminals must convey their signals across the entire axon for subsequent regulation of gene transcription in the cell nucleus. This long-distance retrograde signaling, a motor-driven process that can take hours or days, has been a subject of intense interest. In the last decade, live-cell imaging with high sensitivity has significantly increased our capability to track the transport of neurotrophins, their receptors, and subsequent signals in real time. This review summarizes recent research progress in understanding neurotrophin-receptor interactions at the axonal terminal and their transport dynamics along the axon. We emphasize high-resolution studies at the single-molecule level and also discuss recent technical advances in the field.
神经营养因子是一类由靶细胞衍生的生长因子，可支持支配神经元的存活、发育和维持。由于神经元独特的结构，在轴突末端局部起作用的神经营养因子必须将其信号传递穿过整个轴突，以便随后调节细胞核中的基因转录。这种长距离逆行信号传导是一个由动力驱动的过程，可能需要数小时或数天，一直是人们密切关注的课题。在过去十年中，高灵敏度的活细胞成像显著提高了我们实时追踪神经营养因子、其受体及后续信号运输的能力。本综述总结了在理解轴突末端神经营养因子 - 受体相互作用及其沿轴突的运输动力学方面的最新研究进展。我们强调单分子水平的高分辨率研究，并讨论该领域最近的技术进展。
