Transforming growth factor-: death takes a holiday
Richard J. Miller
& Clifton W. Ragsdale
The authors are in the Department of Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Physiology, The University of Chicago, 947 E. 58th St., Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. rjmx@midway.uchicago.edu or cliff@drugs.bsd.uchicago.edu
Neural development seems normal in mice lacking single TGF-s, but blocking function of all TGF-s is now shown to rescue neurons from programmed apoptosis, suggesting that TGF-s might determine the timing of vulnerability to trophic factor deprivation in development.