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Neuron-Specific Ablation of PDGF-B Is Compatible with Normal Central Nervous System Development and Astroglial Response to Injury

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Abstract

Members of the PDGF family have multiple roles during embryogenesis and in a variety of pathological situations in the adult. One of the major sites of PDGF-B expression in adult mammals are postmitotic CNS neurons. Combined with reported neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects of exogenously administered PDGFs, this has led to the speculation that PDGF-B may have a role in CNS development, in maintenance, or in response to CNS injury. To test these hypotheses, we developed mice in which PDGF-B was ablated genetically in postmitotic neurons at sites where PDGF-B is normally expressed. We found that these mice develop to adulthood without apparent defects. We demonstrate PDGF-B expression in the postnatal mouse hippocampus and forebrain cortex. We show that neuron-specific knockout of PDGF-B does not influence the astroglial and angiogenic responses to injury in the hippocampus or forebrain cortex. We conclude that the role of neuron-derived PDGF-B remains obscure. A role for neuron-derived PDGF-B, if existing, might be redundant with other CNS growth factors. Alternatively, other and more specific analyses of CNS functions in the normal and injured states will be required to demonstrate such a role.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Biochemistry, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden

    Maria Enge, Ulrika Wilhelmsson, Alexandra Abramsson, Josefina Stakeberg, Christer Betsholtz & Milos Pekny

  2. Artemis Pharmaceuticals, Neurather Ring 1, D-51063, Köln, Germany

    Ralf Kühn

Authors
  1. Maria Enge
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  2. Ulrika Wilhelmsson
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  3. Alexandra Abramsson
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  4. Josefina Stakeberg
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  6. Christer Betsholtz
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  7. Milos Pekny
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Correspondence to Milos Pekny.

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Enge, M., Wilhelmsson, U., Abramsson, A. et al. Neuron-Specific Ablation of PDGF-B Is Compatible with Normal Central Nervous System Development and Astroglial Response to Injury. Neurochem Res 28, 271–279 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022421001288

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