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Reduced Size of Retinal Ganglion Cell Axons and Hypomyelination in Mice Lacking Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

https://doi.org/10.1006/mcne.1997.0641Get rights and content

Abstract

While brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) delays the death of axotomized retinal ganglion cells in rodents, it is unclear if it affects any aspect of the normal development of these cells. Here we examined the optic nerve ofbdnf−/− mice. Axonal numbers were normal, but their diameter, as well as the proportion of myelinated axons, was reduced at postnatal day 20 (P20). In contrast, the facial nerve was not hypomyelinated. Expression levels of mRNAs coding for the myelin proteins PLP and MBP were substantially reduced in the hippocampus and cortex at P20, but not in the sciatic nerve. Intraventricular injections of BDNF into the ventricles of wild-type mice at P10 and P12 up-regulated expression of PLP in the hippocampus at P14. These results indicate a role of BDNF, discussed as indirect, in the control of myelination in the central nervous system.

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      2018, Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
      Citation Excerpt :

      Previous studies have revealed that BDNF plays an important role in glial cell functions such as myelination. Analysis of BDNF knockout (KO) mice has revealed significantly reduced expression of myelin marker protein MBP in all brain areas including the hippocampus (Djalali et al., 2005), significant reductions in the expression of mRNAs coding for MBP and proteolipid protein (PLP) in both the hippocampus and the cortex (Djalali et al., 2005), and significantly fewer myelinated axons in the optic nerve (Cellerino et al., 1997). However due to their failure to thrive, poor health and early postnatal lethality, BDNF KO mice have limited utility for detailed examination of myelin development (Cellerino et al., 1997; Djalali et al., 2005).

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    C. F. Ibanez, Ed.

    1

    To whom correspondence should be addressed at present address: Department of Neuroophthalmology, University Eye Hospital, Roentgen Weg 11, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany. Fax: (+49)-7071-295777. E-mail: [email protected].

    2

    Present address: INSERM U 382, IBDM, Marseilles, France.

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