NT-3 (human, recombinant)

Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) is a neurotrophin that is involved in neurogenesis and neuronal plasticity, proliferation, differentiation, and survival. It is produced as a precursor protein composed of a signal peptide, a prodomain, and the mature NT-3 sequence, which is secreted from neurons after cleavage of the proprotein. NT-3 is expressed in the cerebellum and peripheral tissues such as the heart, spleen, and kidneys. It homodimerizes and induces neurotropic signaling mainly through tropomyosin-related kinase C (TrkC) and the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), but it does signal through TrkA and TrkB to a lesser extent. NT-3 induces neurite outgrowth in chick embryonic peripheral sensory and sympathetic neurons in vitro. Conditional knockout of Ntf3, the gene encoding NT-3, in the brain induces learning deficits in a spatial memory task in mice. Hippocampal and prefrontal cortex levels of NT-3 are decreased in suicide victims. Cayman's NT-3 (human, recombinant) protein can be used for binding assays. The protein was synthesized from a DNA sequence encoding the mature form of human NT-3 (Tyr139-Thr257) with an N-terminal translation-initiating methionine (Met1). The expressed protein consists of 120 amino acids, has a calculated molecular weight of 13. kDa, and a predicted N-terminus of Met1.. Protein function: Seems to promote the survival of visceral and proprioceptive sensory neurons. [The UniProt Consortium]