A dual-strategy expression screen for candidate connectivity labels in the developing thalamus.

The thalamus or "inner chamber" of the brain is divided into ~30 discrete nuclei, with highly specific patterns of afferent and efferent connectivity. To identify genes that may direct these patterns of connectivity, we used two strategies. First, we used a bioinformatics pipeline to survey the predicted proteomes of nematode, fruitfly, mouse and human for extracellular proteins containing any of a list of motifs found in known guidance or connectivity molecules.

The insulin-like growth factor-1 axis and its potential as a therapeutic target in central nervous system (CNS) disorders.

The insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is a pleiotropic factor. Many studies have revealed its importance in the development and maintenance of the central nervous system (CNS). This review will discuss the IGF-1 axis, from the factor itself to the signalling pathways it activates, and its tight regulation.

IGF-1-stimulated protein synthesis in oligodendrocyte progenitors requires PI3K/mTOR/Akt and MEK/ERK pathways.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) interacts with the Type I receptor to activate two main signaling pathways, the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt cascades, which mediate proliferation or survival of oligodendrocyte (OL) progenitors (OLPs). In other cellular systems, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and the p70 S6 kinase are downstream effectors that phosphorylate translation initiation factors (e.g.