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Acute and gradual increases in BDNF concentration elicit distinct signaling and functions in neurons

Nature Neuroscience volume 13, pages 302–309 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Extracellular factors may act on cells in two distinct modes: an acute increase in concentration as a result of regulated secretion, or a gradual increase in concentration when secreted constitutively or from a distant source. We found that cellular responses to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) differed markedly depending on how BDNF was delivered. In cultured rat hippocampal neurons, acute and gradual increases in BDNF elicited transient and sustained activation of TrkB receptor and its downstream signaling, respectively, leading to differential expression of Homer1 and Arc. Transient TrkB activation promoted neurite elongation and spine head enlargement, whereas sustained TrkB activation facilitated neurite branch and spine neck elongation. In hippocampal slices, fast and slow increases in BDNF enhanced basal synaptic transmission and LTP, respectively. Thus, the kinetics of TrkB activation is critical for cell signaling and functions. This temporal dimension in cellular signaling may also have implications for the therapeutic drug design.

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Figure 1: Transient or sustained TrkB and Erk activation induced by acute or gradual BDNF stimulation.
Figure 2: Differential expression of Homer1 and Arc by acute and gradual modes of BDNF stimulation.
Figure 3: Differential effects of acute and gradual modes on neurite growth of young neurons.
Figure 4: Acute and gradual modulation of dendritic spine growth of mature neurons.
Figure 5: Differential signaling of fast and slow BDNF stimulation in hippocampal slices.
Figure 6: Differential physiological effects of fast and slow BDNF stimulation in hippocampal slices.
Figure 7: Differential regulation of NMDAR EPSCs and AMPAR/NMDAR ratio by fast and slow BDNF application.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research Fellows Editorial Board and G. Nagappan for the thoughtful comments and suggestions. We thank W.H. Wilson for his innovative research in cancer therapy that helped us conceive this work. This work was supported by the Intramural Research Programs of the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Mental Health.

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Author notes

  1. Yuanyuan Ji & Bai Lu

    Present address: Present address: GlaxoSmithKline, R&D China, Pudong, Shanghai, China.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section on Neural Development and Plasticity, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and Gene, Cognition and Psychosis Program, National Institute on Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Yuanyuan Ji, Yuan Lu, Feng Yang & Bai Lu

  2. Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

    Yuanyuan Ji, Wanhua Shen, Linyin Feng & Shumin Duan

  3. Receptor Biology Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Tina Tze-Tsang Tang

  4. Department of Anatomy, Medical Research Council Centre for Synaptic Plasticity, University of Bristol, School of Medical Sciences, Bristol, UK.

    Tina Tze-Tsang Tang

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Contributions

Y.J. conducted the biology and morphology experiments and wrote the manuscript. Y.L. prepared hippocampal slices and conducted the extracellular recording in slice. F.Y. conducted the whole-cell recording in slices. W.S. conducted the electrophysiology experiments. T.T.-T.T. prepared neuron culture and conducted morphology experiments. L.F. performed the immunostaining and biology experiments. S.D. supervised the project. B.L. supervised the project, designed the experiments and wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Bai Lu.

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Ji, Y., Lu, Y., Yang, F. et al. Acute and gradual increases in BDNF concentration elicit distinct signaling and functions in neurons. Nat Neurosci 13, 302–309 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2505

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