查看文章

Inflammatory processes involving reactive microglia, e.g., those associated with β‐amyloid containing neuritic and core plaques in Alzheimer's disease, appear to contribute to neuronal degeneration in the CNS. The fact that increased nerve growth factor (NGF) protein levels were found throughout brains of Alzheimer's disease patients led us to investigate neurotrophin synthesis in a human microglial cell line showing typical properties of human microglial cells, including expression of neurotrophins such as NGF, as well as the NGF receptor trkA and the low‐affinity neurotrophin receptor p75. We found that the cytokines interleukin‐1β and tumor necrosis factor‐α synergistically stimulate microglial NGF transcription and protein release. Moreover, exposure of microglial cells to complement factor C3a induces NGF expression. To assess the role of the transcription factor nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) in inflammatory …