Neurobiology of disease
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Neurobiology of disease · Dec 2000
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor in astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia/macrophages after spinal cord injury.
Recent studies suggest that the injured adult spinal cord responds to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT3) with enhanced neuron survival and axon regeneration. Potential neurotrophin sources and cellular localization in spinal cord are largely undefined. We examined glial BDNF localization in normal cord and its temporospatial distribution after injury in vivo. ⋯ Ten millimeters from the lesion, astrocyte and microglia/macrophage BDNF-immunolabeling resembled that at the injury at all times examined. Twenty millimeters from injury, BDNF localization in all three glial subtypes resembled controls, regardless of time postlesion. Our findings suggest that in normal adult cord, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia/macrophages play roles in local trophin availability and in trophin-mediated injury and healing responses directly within and surrounding the wound site.