Showing papers by "Joanne E. Martin published in 1995"
TL;DR: A marked decrease of CNTF is reported in the ventral horn of spinal cord in ALS, with no change in cerebral motor cortex, and NGF levels were decreased in ALS cerebral motor Cortex, but increased in the lateral column of spinal cords, which includes the region of corticospinal tract degeneration in ALS.
Abstract: Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) rescues motor neurons in animal models of injury and neurodegeneration, and disruption of the mouse CNTF gene results in motor neuron degeneration in mature adults. Glial cells increase nerve growth factor (NGF) expression in neuropathological conditions, and the sensory system can be affected in the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) type of motor neuronic disease. We therefore studied CNTF and NGF levels in post mortem spinal cord and cerebral cortex from patients with ALS and matched controls. We report a marked decrease of CNTF in the ventral horn of spinal cord in ALS, with no change in cerebral motor cortex. In contrast, NGF levels were decreased in ALS cerebral motor cortex, where the corticospinal tract originates, but increased in the lateral column of spinal cord, which includes the region of corticospinal tract degeneration in ALS. Both CNTF and NGF levels were decreased in ALS dorsal spinal cord.
73 citations
TL;DR: In the spinal cord of ALS patients there is a marked increase in the hybridisation signal for CNTFR alpha subunit mRNA overlying motor neurones, and evidence for regional differences in CNTF receptor expression in upper- and lower-motor neurones in ALS is provided.
27 citations
TL;DR: Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, GDNF, is a potent neurotrophicfactor that promotes the survival of dopaminergic neurones in cultures including embryonic neuronal cultures and is mapped by two independent methods.
Abstract: Neurotrophic factors are essential neurone survival promoting molecules that are often secreted and that bind to neuronal cell surface receptors. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, GDNF, is a potent neurotrophic factor that promotes the survival of dopaminergic neurones in cultures including embryonic neuronal cultures. We have mapped the gene encoding GDNF by two independent methods: using a cell hybrid panel and by fluorescent in situ hybridisation. We find GDNF lies on the short arm of human chromosome 5, at 5p13.1-p13.3
19 citations
TL;DR: The human and mouse TNNC1 locus, whose protein product is the cardiac TnI protein, has been mapped by following the segregation of an intron sequence through DNAs from the European Interspecific Backcross.
16 citations