Nature Neuroscience5, 1177 - 1184 (2002)
Published online: 30 September 2002; | doi:10.1038/nn927
BDNF release from single cells elicits local dendritic growth in nearby neurons
Hadley Wilson Horch1, 2
& Lawrence C. Katz1
1
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3209, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
2
Current address: Departments of Biology and Neuroscience, Bowdoin College, 6500 College Station, Brunswick, Maine 04011, USA
Correspondence should be addressed to Hadley Wilson Horch hhorch@bowdoin.edu
In cultured neurons, the exogenous application of neurotrophins (in homogenous concentrations) alters many features of axonal and dendritic arbors. In vivo, however, release of endogenous neurotrophins from neuronal processes creates spatially heterogeneous neurotrophin distributions. To probe the consequences of such endogenous neurotrophin distribution, we produced 'donor neurons' in ferret cortex brain slices that co-expressed brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and red fluorescent protein (RFP). Using two-photon microscopy, we analyzed their effects on 'recipient neurons' that expressed green fluorescent protein (GFP) alone. BDNF released from dendrites and cell bodies acted directly on nearby recipient neurons to increase dendritic branching in a distance-dependent manner. Three-dimensional analysis of donor and recipient dendrites indicated that the BDNF source had to be within 4.5 m to induce dendritic growth in the recipient neuron. Thus, BDNF released from an individual cell alters the structure of nearby dendrites on an exquisitely local scale.
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m to induce dendritic growth in the recipient neuron. Thus, BDNF released from an individual cell alters the structure of nearby dendrites on an exquisitely local scale.
