Abstract

A potent neurotrophic factor that enhances survival of midbrain dopaminergic neurons was purified and cloned. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a glycosylated, disulfide-bonded homodimer that is a distantly related member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily. In embryonic midbrain cultures, recombinant human GDNF promoted the survival and morphological differentiation of dopaminergic neurons and increased their high-affinity dopamine uptake. These effects were relatively specific; GDNF did not increase total neuron or astrocyte numbers nor did it increase transmitter uptake by γ-aminobutyric-containing and serotonergic neurons. GDNF may have utility in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, which is marked by progressive degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons.

Keywords

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factorGDNF family of ligandsDopaminergicNeurotrophic factorsMidbrainNeurturinDopamineBiologyNeuroscienceAstrocyteNeuronCell biologyEndocrinologyInternal medicineCentral nervous systemBiochemistryMedicineReceptor

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Publication Info

Year
1993
Type
letter
Volume
260
Issue
5111
Pages
1130-1132
Citations
3213
Access
Closed

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Leu‐Fen H. Lin, Daniel H. Doherty, Jack D. Lile et al. (1993). GDNF: a Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor for Midbrain Dopaminergic Neurons. Science , 260 (5111) , 1130-1132. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.8493557

Identifiers

DOI
10.1126/science.8493557