Recent Advances in NGF and Related Molecules The Continuum of the NGF “Saga”

More than fifty years after its initial discovery by Rita Levi Montalcini and Stanley Cohen and the proposal of the neurotrophic theory, nerve growth factor (NGF) has become the prototype of a family of biologically active molecules called neurotrophic factors (NTFs).

This book addresses important advances in NTF research, from basic science to clinical medicine. It focuses mainly on NGF, but also includes individual chapters dealing with the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and ligands of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family, which have attracted increasing interest in the neuroscience community because of their diverse effects in the normal and diseased brain.

In the first part of the book, the authors provide the necessary background for the following chapters and discuss the basic mechanisms and pathways of NGF signal transduction. In the following sections, they then examine the regenerative activity and neuroprotective capacity of NGF during development and in normal and diseased tissues in adulthood and discuss the role of NGF in Alzheimer's disease and nociception. In addition, the role of NGF in processing sensory information and its influence on behavior is further discussed. The book concludes with an overview of the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of NTF in psychiatric disorders and obesity management, as well as a highlight of NGF research in veterinary medicine.

Many of the authors of this volume participated in the Second International Rita Levi-Montalcini Meeting, held in Bologna, Italy, in 2019. The book covers a wide range of important topics in past and current NTF research and will appeal to basic researchers and clinicians alike.

Part I. Basic Science.- Nerve Growth Factor, The First Molecule of the Neurotrophin Family.- The First and Last Time I Met Rita Levi-Montalcini: From the Insect Neurotrophic Factor to the Nerve Growth Factor Clinical Application.- NGF Signalling in Endosomes.- The NGF Metabolic Pathway: New Opportunities for Biomarker Research and Drug Target Discovery.- Part II. Development and Regeneration.- NGF and Endogenous Regeneration: From Embryology Toward Therapies.- The Versatile Roles of Nerve Growth Factor in Neuronal Attraction, Odontoblast Differentiation and Mineral Deposition in Human Teeth.- An Overview of Adult Neurogenesis.- Intervention of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Other Neurotrophins in Adult Neurogenesis.- Part III. Alzheimer and Central Nervous System.- Rita Levi-Montalcini, NGF Metabolism in Health and in the Alzheimer's Pathology.- NGF and Amyloid Precursor Protein in Alzheimer’s Disease: From Molecular Players to Neuronal Circuits.-A Review of Techniques for Biodelivery of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) to the Brain in Relation to Alzheimer´s Disease.- NGF Released from Blood Cells or Collagen Hydrogels as a Therapeutic Target in Alzheimers Disease?.- Part IV. Complex Behaviors.- When Nerve Growth Factor Met Behavior.- Crosstalk of BDNF and GDNF in Spinal Substantia Gelatinosa (Lamina II): Focus on Circuitry.- PART V. Clinical Medicine.- BDNF Gene as a Precision Skill of Obesity Management.- The Science of Love: State of the Art.- NGF  and Retinitis Pigmentosa: Structural and Molecular Studies.- NGF in Inflammatory and Neurodegenerative Diseases of the Eye: New Findings Supporting Neuroprotection and Proper Tissue Remodeling in Vitreoretinal Disorders.- Part VI. Veterinary Medicine.- Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and Animal Reproduction.- Neurotrophins in the Brain of Teleost Fish: The State of the Art.

Laura Calzà, MD, Endocrinology Specialist, Full Professor of Embryology, Regenerative Medicine and Cognitive Science, University of Bologna. Scientific Director of Fondazione IRET (Ozzano Emilia, Italy), and Montecatone Rehabilitation Institute for severe brain and spinal cord injuries (Imola, Bologna). Author of more than 200 articles in international peer reviewed journals and more that 60 chapters in international books. Her work has so far received almost 5800 citations (Scopus, 2020; H-index 2020: 42). She has a broad background in neurobiology, with specific training and expertise in chemical neuroanatomy, neurological behavioral analysis, molecular biology, cell cultures including neural stem cells, in the frame of the translational medicine principles. Main focus of research activity is the study of reactive and repair mechanisms of the nervous system following experimental and spontaneous lesions, using in vivo and in vitro models, according to the bench-to-bedside and bed-to-bench side approach of the translational medicine. The lab Investigates self-repair properties of different tissues and organs based on the resident stem cells and develops the entire pipeline of the preclinical testing of new drugs, advanced therapies, biomaterials, biomedical devices also according to GLP and ISO guidelines. The lab belongs to the high-technology network of Emilia Romagna and is a Technopole of the Emilia Romagna Region.

Laura Calzà has been and is PI or co-Investigator on several university-, regional, national, and international agencies-funded grants for preclinical and clinical research projects.