Expression of neurotrophin receptors by proliferating glia in postischemic hippocampal CA1 sector of adult monkeys

Abstract

Transient global cerebral ischemia elicits a nearly total neuronal cell death in the hippocampal CA1 sector, accompanied by a marked microglial and astroglial proliferation. The molecular mechanisms regulating the postischemic glial reaction in the primate brain remain obscure. Here we present in situ evidence that proliferating postischemic microglia in adult monkey CA1 sector express the neurotrophin receptor TrkA, while activated astrocytes were labeled for the TrkA ligand nerve growth factor (NGF) and the tyrosine kinase TrkB, a receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). These results implicate NGF and BDNF as regulators of postischemic glial proliferation in adult primate hippocampus.