Immunological study of freshwater crayfish nervous tissue for receptors for neurotrophins and ciliary neurotrophic factor

Abstract

Neurotrophic factors support survival of neural and glial cells under injuring impacts to mammalian nerve tissue. In invertebrates elements of neurotrophic signaling system (receptors and ligands) were not found for a long time, while phenomenology indicates that cytoprotective neuroglial communication involving neurotrophins, probably, occurs. Presence of proteins immunologically similar to receptors of neurotrophic factors—NGF, BDNF and CNTF—in freshwater crayfish nerve tissue was studied in this work. The proteins similar to low affinity neurotrophins receptor p75, as well as similar to ciliary neurotrophic factor receptor CNTFR were found. In the stretch receptor organ of freshwater crayfish immunostaining for p75 receptors was mainly localized in the receptor neurons, whereas immunostaining for CNTFR was most pronounced in certain glial cells.