Role of N-cadherin in Schwann cell precursors of growing nerves.

In the present paper, we determine the localization and developmental regulation of N-cadherin in embryonic rat nerves and examine the role of N-cadherin in this system. We also identify a major transition in the architecture of embryonic nerves and relating it to N-cadherin expression. We find that in early embryonic nerves, N-cadherin is primarily expressed in Schwann cell precursors.

The effects of rAAV2-mediated NGF gene delivery in adult and aged rats.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) therapy has been proposed to treat patients with age-related cognitive deficits, including those with Alzheimer's disease. One promising approach to delivering this protein into brain involves viral vectors. However, little is known about the effects of aging on gene transfer in brain generally and in particular its effect on transgenic NGF expression.