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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Pharmacol Res. 2009 Oct 17;61(1):14–26. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2009.10.002

Figure 2. Neurotrophic factors act on receptor kinases to exert effects.

Figure 2

Neurotrophic factors released into the extracellular environment bind to their cognate receptor or family of receptors with differing affinity. A) The NTF/receptor interaction can activate intracellular signaling via A) phosphorylation by a transmembrane coreceptor (e.g. GDNF) or B) phosphorylation by receptor dimerization (e.g. NGF). Receptor phosphorylation leads to the activation of various signaling pathways that have multiple effects on the cell including transcriptional activation, altered cellular metabolism and synaptic plasticity. For more details on TGF-beta receptors and neurotrophin receptor signaling see reviews (191–194).