Recent Advances in NGF and Related Molecules

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.

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.

Luigi Aloe is a leader scientist in the NGF field, having published more than 420 articles in peer reviewed journals. His work has so far received almost 18000 citations (Scopus, 2020; H-index 2020: 70). He has been a close collaborator of Rita Levi-Montalcini for over 40 years, first at the Dept. of Biology, Washington, University, St. Louis Mo. USA, then at Institute of Neurobiology CNR, Rome Italy, where he was Research Director from 1995 until 2016. Currently he is Research Director at IRET Foundation.

For his outstanding contribution in the neurotrophins field Luigi Aloe received the Honoris Causa Degree in Biological Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy and the Honoris Causa Degree in Medical Sciences at Varna Medical School, Bulgaria.

Luciana Giardino, MD, Endocrinology Specialist, Associate Professor of Anatomy of Domestic Animals, Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), University of Bologna; Scientific Director of the Unit of Translational Medicine at CIRI Life Sciences; President of the Foundation IRET - The Eye of Knowledge on Brain ONLUS.

Author of more than 140 articles in international peer reviewed journals and more that 35 chapters in international books. Her work has so far received almost 3800 citations. 

Main focus of her 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.

Luciana Giardino has been and is PI or co-Investigator on several university-, regional, and national agencies-funded grants for preclinical research projects.