Neuroscience

Tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) is a member of the Trk receptor tyrosine kinases family consisting of TrkA, TrkB and TrkC. The sequence of these family members is highly conserved.

In the UK, 127,000 people are affected by the progressive neurodegenerative condition Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's is extremely difficult to diagnose in its early stages. The current method of diagnosis includes examination for physical signs of Parkinson's along with a detailed history of symptoms. The defining neuropathological characteristics of Parkinson's disease is Lewy bodies.

Clinical depression (also known as major depressive disorder or MDD) affects many people, but the biological processes that cause it (and are influenced by its treatments) are not well understood. Adult neurogenesis is a newly emerging field that could contribute to our knowledge of the etiology of depression and the effects of antidepressants. Nestin antibodies are key tools for this research, as they can be used to identify developing neurons.

Synaptophysin a Marker Protein in Neuroendocrine Cells Synaptophysin is a major integral membrane glycoprotein of neuronal synaptic vesicles present in virtually all synapses and shows a high degree of evolutionary conservation across the mammals. Synaptophysin has been detected in numerous endocrine cell types and is localized in the membrane of small synaptic-like vesicles.

 Tyrosine hydroxylase catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of the catecholamines dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. A hallmark of Parkinson's disease is the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Mutations in cases of autosomal recessive dopa-responsive dystonia and infantile Parkinsonism have also been identified recently.

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine/threonine protein kinase and has been known to play its role in cell growth and proliferation. mTOR is activated by phosphorylationin response to growth factors, mitogens and hormones. Rapamycin is a macrolide antibiotic from Streptomyces hygroscopicus that specifically inhibit the activity of mTOR.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a class III intermediate filament (IF) protein and is used as a marker to distinguish astrocytes from other glial cells during development.

Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) variously abbreviated as BrdU, BudR, and BrdUrd, is a synthetic thymidine analog that gets incorporated into the DNA of dividing cells during the S-phase of the cell cycle and has a long history of heavy use in molecular and cytokinetic studies (1).

ABCG2 is a member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily. Among ABC transporters ABCG2 is particularly interesting for its potential role in protecting cancer stem cells and its complex oligomeric structure (1).

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe muscle wasting condition, causing disability and early death. There is currently no cure or adequate treatment for DMD, but pioneering research indicates that injection of a laminin protein may prevent (or at least slow) this muscle degeneration.