Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 109, Issue 35, Pages 14230-14235Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1206093109
Keywords
electrophysiology; transcription
Categories
Funding
- Rett Syndrome Research Trust
- International Rett Syndrome Foundation [2809]
- Swiss National Foundation [31003A_124902]
- Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) [31003A_124902] Funding Source: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
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The functional relevance of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is beginning to be well appreciated not only in mice, but also in humans. Because reduced levels typically correlate with impaired neuronal function, increasing BDNF levels with well-tolerated drugs diffusing into the central nervous system may help in ameliorating functional deficits. With this objective in mind, we used the sphingosine-1 phosphate receptor agonist fingolimod, a drug that crosses the blood-brain barrier. In addition, fingolimod has recently been introduced as the first oral treatment for multiple sclerosis. In cultured neurons, fingolimod increases BDNF levels and counteracts NMDA-induced neuronal death in a BDNF-dependent manner. Ongoing synaptic activity and MAPK signaling is required for fingolimod-induced BDNF increase, a pathway that can also be activated in vivo by systemic fingolimod administration. Mice lacking Mecp2, a gene frequently mutated in Rett syndrome, show decreased levels of BDNF, and fingolimod administration was found to partially rescue these levels as well as the size of the striatum, a volumetric sensor of BDNF signaling in rodents. These changes correlate with increased locomotor activity of the Mecp2-deficient animals, suggesting that fingolimod may improve the functional output of the nervous system, in addition to its well-documented effects on lymphocyte egress from lymph nodes.
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