Schwann cells in developing and regenerating peripheral nerves express elevated levels of the neurotrophin receptor p75 ^NTR . Neurotrophins are key mediators of peripheral nervous system myelination. Our results show that myelin formation is inhibited in the absence of functional p75 ^NTR and enhanced by blocking TrkC activity. Moreover, the enhancement of myelin formation by endogenous brain-derived neurotrophic factor is mediated by the p75 ^NTR receptor, whereas TrkC receptors are responsible for neurotrophin-3 inhibition. Thus p75 ^NTR and TrkC receptors have opposite effects on myelination.

Although knowledge of the functions of neurotrophins has advanced rapidly in recent years, studies concerning the involvement of neurotrophins in glial–neuronal interactions rarely extend further than their roles in supporting the survival and differentiation of neuronal cells. In this study endogenous brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT3) were identified in Schwann cell/dorsal root ganglia neuronal cocultures and shown to modulate the myelination program of the peripheral nervous system. The differential expression of BDNF and NT3 were examined and compared with the expression profiles of myelin proteins in the cocultures throughout the myelination process. BDNF levels correlated with active myelin formation, whereas NT3 expression was initially high and then down regulated throughout the proliferation and premyelination periods. Addition of exogenous BDNF enhanced myelination, whereas the removal of the endogenous BDNF by using the BDNF receptor TrkB-Fc fusion protein inhibited the formation of mature myelin internodes. Interestingly, exogenous NT3 significantly inhibited myelination, whereas the removal of the endogenous NT3 by using the NT3 receptor TrkC-Fc fusion protein resulted in an enhancement similar to that obtained with the addition of BDNF. In addition, in vivo studies were performed during the development of the mouse sciatic nerve. Subcutaneous injections of BDNF resulted in an enhancement of myelin formation in the sciatic nerve, whereas the removal of the endogenous BDNF dramatically inhibited myelination. Injections of NT3 inhibited myelin formation, and the removal of the endogenous NT3 enhanced myelination. These results demonstrate that BDNF and NT3 possess different modulatory roles in the myelination program of the peripheral nervous system and that their mechanisms of action are specific and highly regulated.

Retinoic acid (RA) is a potent regulator of neuronal cell differentiation. RA normally activates gene expression by binding to nuclear receptors that interact with response elements (RAREs) in regulatory regions of target genes. We show here that in PC12 cell subclones in which the retinoid causes neurite extension, RA induces a rapid and sustained phosphorylation of CREB (cyclic AMP response element binding protein), compatible with a nongenomic effect. RA also causes a rapid increase of CREB phosphorylation in primary cultures of cerebrocortical cells and of dorsal root ganglia neurons from rat embryos. RA-mediated phosphorylation of CREB leads to a direct stimulation of CREB-dependent transcriptional activity and to activation of the expression of genes such as c-fos, which do not contain RAREs but contain cAMP response elements (CREs) in their promoters. CREB is a major target of extracellular signal regulated kinase ERK1/2 signaling in neuronal cells, and we demonstrate here that RA induces an early stimulation of ERK1/2, which is required both for CREB phosphorylation and transcriptional activity. These results demonstrate that RA, by a nongenomic mechanism, stimulates signaling pathways that lead to phosphorylation of transcription factors, which in turn activate the transcription of genes involved in neuronal differentiation.