Richard A. Pollock

TL;DR: Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), originally identified as a trophic factor specific for dopaminergic neurons, was found to be 75-fold more potent than the neurotrophins in supporting the survival of purified embryonic rat motoneurons in culture and to be a good candidate for treatment of motoneuron disease.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that physiological responses to GDNF require the presence of a novel glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked protein (designated GDNFR-α) that is expressed on GDNF-responsive cells and binds GDNF with a high affinity, which supports the hypothesis that GDNF uses a multi-subunit receptor system in which GDN FR-α and Ret function as the ligand-binding and signalling components.

TL;DR: Cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1), a cytokine related to ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), is expressed at high levels in embryonic limb bud and is secreted by differentiated myotubes, suggesting that CT-1 may act through a GPI-linked component.

TL;DR: It is shown that HGF/SF has potent neurotrophic activity (EC50=2 pM) for a subpopulation (40%) of purified embryonic rat motoneurons and may play an important role during motoneuron development as a muscle-derived survival factor for aSubpopulation of limb-innervating mot oneurons.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that media conditioned by muscle and Schwann cell lines show strong synergistic effects on survival of purified embryonic day 14.5 rat motoneurons in culture, suggesting that the motoneuron must integrate distinct signals from different cellular partners when deciding whether to die or to survive.