Polyclonal Antibody to Neurturin (human)

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) plays key roles in the control of vertebrate neuron survival and differentiation. A novel neurotrophic factor was recently cloned from human and mouse and designated neurturin [1,2]. Physiological responses to neurturin (NTN) require the presence of receptor tyrosine kinase RET and a novel glycosylphosphatidylinositol linked receptor NTNRα [3,4]. The cDNAs encoding NTNRα from human, rat, chicken and mouse have been cloned [3-8] and termed GDNFRβ, Ret ligand 2 (RETL2) or TGF-β-related neurotrophic factor receptor 2 (TrnR2) and nominated as GFRα-2 recently [9]. NTN binds to and forms a complex with GFRα-2 and the Ret PTK and activates the RET receptor tyrosine kinase pathway. Both NTN and GDNF can activate the MAP kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathways and play a critical role in the developement of many neuronal populations. Neurturin and GDNF define a new family of neurotrophic factors.