Early exposure to ethanol but not red wine at the same alcohol concentration induces behavioral and brain neurotrophin alterations in young and adult mice.

Ethanol exposure during pregnancy is one of the major causes of mental retardation in western countries by inducing fetal-alcohol-like-syndromes. Red wine is known to contain ethanol but also compounds with putative antioxidant properties. It has also been shown that nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are severely affected by ethanol during prenatal and postnatal life.

Glaucoma alters the expression of NGF and NGF receptors in visual cortex and geniculate nucleus of rats: effect of eye NGF application.

We investigated the effect of glaucoma (GL) on nerve growth factor (NGF) presence in two brain visual areas. Rats with elevated intraocular pressure (EIOP), induced by hypertonic saline injection in the episcleral vein, were treated with eye topical application of saline or NGF. Rats were subsequently sacrificed, and brain tissues were used for immunohistochemical, biochemical, and molecular analyses.

Clozapine or Haloperidol in rats prenatally exposed to methylazoxymethanol, a compound inducing entorhinal-hippocampal deficits, alter brain and blood neurotrophins' concentrations.

Rats exposed during prenatal life to methylazoxymethanol (MAM) display in postnatal age structural and behavioral deficits resembling those observed in schizophrenic patients. These deficits are associated with significant changes in brain nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), particularly in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. In the present study, we used the MAM model to investigate in young rats the effect of antipsychotics, Clozapine and Haloperidol, on brain and blood NGF and BDNF presence.

Repeated restraint and nerve growth factor administration in male and female mice: effect on sympathetic and cardiovascular mediators of the stress response.

Chronic stress and increased sympathetic nerve activity have been associated with cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension, myocardial infarction and stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of nerve growth factor (NGF) on the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), vascular-endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and leptin receptor (OB-R) in brain, adrenal and cardiovascular tissues of adult male and female mice following a chronic stress procedure. It was found that daily restraint for 10 consecutive days alters TH levels in hypothalamic and brainstem areas related to sympathetic activation, in both male and female mice.

Eye drop NGF administration promotes the recovery of chemically injured cholinergic neurons of adult mouse forebrain.

We have recently shown that conjunctivally applied nerve growth factor (NGF) in rats can reach the retina, the optic nerve and the CNS. In the present study, we investigated whether NGF application as collyrium can promote the recovery of chemically injured basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. NGF was administered on the eye of adult male mice previously treated i.

Brain leptin and nerve growth factor are differently affected by stress in male and female mice: possible neuroendocrine and cardio-metabolic implications.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the variations in leptin and nerve growth factor (NGF) expression induced by immobilization stress in the brain of male and female adult CD1 mice. We found that 10 days of repeated immobilization stress induced an increase of hypothalamus and thalamus NGF that was more pronounced in female than in male mice. We also found that this type of stress induced an increase of leptin expression in the hypothalamus of female mice, and a decrease in the thalamus of both male and female mice, associated with enhanced expression of leptin receptors in the hypothalamus and thalamus, both in male and female mice.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) and NGF-receptor expression in diseased human kidneys.

Background: Nerve growth factor (NGF) has been indicated to be critical to normal renal development in rodents. However, little is known about the expression of NGF and the high-affinity NGF receptors in human kidneys which is essential for promoting the biological and functional activities of NGF. The present study examined the presence of NGF, low-affinity (p75) and high-affinity tyrosine kinase A (TrkA) NGF receptor (NGFR) immunoreactivity in diseased human kidneys.

Exposure in fetus of methylazoxymethanol in the rat alters brain neurotrophins' levels and brain cells' proliferation.

Changes during gestation have been shown to induce brain maldevelopment associated with changes in neurotrophins as nerve growth factor (NGF), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neuropsychiatric disorders in humans. A rat model of altered prenatal brain development resembling the onset of schizophrenia has been obtained by administering in fetus methylazoxymethanol (MAM) at gestational day 12 which impairs the growth of limbic pathways between the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus. Using the MAM model we studied in young rats the brain levels of both NGF/BDNF and their main receptors, TrkA/TrkB, to investigate whether or not changes in neurotrophins could affect the presence of brain BrdU positive cells.

Nerve growth factor eye drop administrated on the ocular surface of rodents affects the nucleus basalis and septum: biochemical and structural evidence.

It has been shown that conjunctivally applied NGF in rats can reach the retina and optic nerve. Whether topical eye NGF application reaches the central nervous system is not known. In the present study, we have addressed this question.

Early social enrichment shapes social behavior and nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in the adult mouse brain.

Background: Early experiences produce persistent changes in brain and behavioral function. We investigate whether being reared in a communal nest (CN), a form of early social enrichment that characterizes the natural ecological niche of many rodent species including the mouse, has effects on adult social/aggressive behavior and nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in mice.

Methods: The CN consisted of a single nest where three mothers kept their pups together and shared care-giving behavior from birth to weaning (postnatal day 25).

Early social enrichment augments adult hippocampal BDNF levels and survival of BrdU-positive cells while increasing anxiety- and "depression"-like behavior.

Early experiences affect brain function and behavior at adulthood. Being reared in a communal nest (CN), consisting of a single nest where three mothers keep their pups together and share care-giving behavior from birth to weaning (postnatal day [PND] 25), provides an highly socially stimulating environment to the developing pup. Communal nest characterizes the natural ecologic niche of many rodent species including the mouse.