Growth factor signals in neural cells: coherent patterns of interaction control multiple levels of molecular and phenotypic responses.

Individual neurons express receptors for several different growth factors that influence the survival, growth, neurotransmitter phenotype, and other properties of the cell. Although there has been considerable progress in elucidating the molecular signal transduction pathways and physiological responses of neurons and other cells to individual growth factors, little is known about if and how signals from different growth factors are integrated within a neuron. In this study, we determined the interactive effects of nerve growth factor, insulin-like growth factor 1, and epidermal growth factor on the activation status of downstream kinase cascades and transcription factors, cell survival, and neurotransmitter production in neural cells that express receptors for all three growth factors.

Resveratrol improves health and survival of mice on a high-calorie diet.

Resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene) extends the lifespan of diverse species including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. In these organisms, lifespan extension is dependent on Sir2, a conserved deacetylase proposed to underlie the beneficial effects of caloric restriction. Here we show that resveratrol shifts the physiology of middle-aged mice on a high-calorie diet towards that of mice on a standard diet and significantly increases their survival.