Nerve growth factor exhibits an antioxidant and an autocrine activity in mouse liver that is modulated by buthionine sulfoximine, arsenic, and acetaminophen.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is one of the several structurally related proteins, named neurotrophins (NTs), that regulate neuronal survival, development, function, and plasticity. Moreover, NGF is an important activator of antioxidant mechanisms. These NGF functions are mediated by tropomyosin-related kinase receptor A (TrkA). Although NTs and their receptors have been shown to be expressed in visceral tissues, the extent to which NTs are involved in the physiology of visceral tissues is less clear. NGF is the most expressed NT in adult mouse livers. Although NGF is an important modulator of antioxidant mechanisms in neural tissues, few studies describe the relationship between oxidative stress and NGF expression in the liver. In this study, we demonstrate that ngfb mRNA is positively modulated in mouse livers after oxidative injury via intraperitoneal injection of 14 mg/kg sodium arsenite, 6 mmol/kg L-buthionine-S-R-sulfoximine (BSO), or 300 mg/kg acetaminophen (APAP). In addition to the upregulation of ngfb, we observed the phosphorylation of the NGF high-affinity receptor TrkA in the liver as well as the downstream phosphorylation of Akt, NF-kB nuclear migration and iκbα and tx-1 mRNA upregulation. These effects were abolished when a neutralizing anti-NGF antibody was used. Furthermore, this anti-NGF antibody alone induced oxidative stress in the liver by decreasing the reduced glutathione, increasing the oxidized glutathione, and downregulating tx-1 mRNA. Thus, NGF plays a critical role in liver protection against oxidative stress and xenobiotic injury as well as maintains a reduced thiol state.