Neuroimmune crosstalk through brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its precursor pro-BDNF: New insights into mood disorders

Figure 1 Role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and pro-BDNF in neuroimmune crosstalk in mood disorders. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) or pro-BDNF can be stored in the dense-core vesicles and released upon neuronal activity. The released BDNF and pro-BDNF mainly bind to their high affinity receptors, TrkB and p75^NTR, respectively and mediate the downstream signaling pathways. BDNF-TrkB signaling leads to neuronal survival, development and long-term potentiation. In contrast, pro-BDNF-p75^NTR signaling mediates neuronal apoptosis, axonal pruning and long-term depression. BDNF: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; NF-κB: Nuclear factor-κB.