Biosensis offers new Neurotrophin 4/5 Rapid ELISA Kit. NT4 is not just a baby brother to BDNF. 
NT4 Rapid ELISA kit

The Forgotten Neurotrophin: NT4/5

Dear Doctor 

Biosensis is pleased to welcome you to our June edition of e-antibody solutions. In this issue we are highlighting the important fourth member of the neurotrophin family that modulates a wide range of neuronal functions within the central and peripheral nervous systems: Neurotrophin 4.     

 

Also, take a Sneak Peak at our newly released Neurotrophin 4/5 Rapid™ ELISA Kit (Catalog No# BEK-2218-2P). This rapid format kit allows you to get your results in less than 4 hours (ie, before lunch!).

 

Biosensis is a leading supplier of top quality products for your neuroscience research. To learn more about our products visit us at www.biosensis.com.  

 
Neurotrophin 4
Neurotrophin 4; not just a baby brother to BDNF
Distinct and separate roles
NT4 as a biomarker
Sneak Peak at the new Biosensis Rapid NT4 ELISA
Rapid ELISA Kit
Image of our Neurotrophin 4/5 Rapid™ ELISA kit (BEK-2218-2P).

Neurotrophin 4; not just a baby brother to BDNF   


Neurotrophin 4 (or sometimes NT4/5 to its friends, because of the early confusion in gene identification) is the fourth member of the neurotrophin family that modulate a wide range of neuronal functions within the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Its role in both the developing and mature organism is often considered to be subservient to the important homologue, BDNF, particularly as both factors act on the same receptors, TrkB and p75NTR. 

However, there is now clear evidence for independent and differential roles for BDNF and NT4. For example, Garcia et al. (2010) using high resolution confocal imaging on intact and semi-thin sections of rat ear muscle, described different subcellular localizations of BDNF and NT4, thus emphasizing their distinct functional roles.  
 

Distinct and separate roles  


The differential roles for BDNF and NT4 are even more clearly defined in the sensory nervous system where some neurons require both NT4 and BDNF not only for survival but also for full development. These separate roles are different despite both neurotrophins having almost identical affinities for both the TrkB and p75NTR receptors, respectively. 

Runge et al. (2012) highlighted these differences by demonstrating that NT4 is 20- to 100-fold more potent than BDNF in chemotactic studies of geniculate neurons, and this was supported by findings of Patel and Krimm (2012) who demonstrated the two factors inhibit neuronal death through either a caspase-3-dependent, or -independent pathway, respectively.  
 
NT4 as a biomarker

 

While the measurement of circulating BDNF has become an exciting area for biomarker discovery research, NT4 has only be quantified in blood in a handful of studies. Nevertheless, these few studies hint at potential diagnostic value; for example in autism, Down's syndrome, anorexia nervosa and other neurological developmental disorders (Nelson et al, 2006; Dmitrzak-Weglarz et al, 2012; Benn et al, 2014). Benn et al. (2014) showed a clear correlation between NT4 and long chain fatty acids in mid-trimester amniotic fluids and suggested this may underlie the observation that long chain fatty acid supplements can improve neurological development (Brenna et al, 2009). 

 

Sneak Peak at the Biosensis NT4 Rapid™ ELISA kit 

Biosensis is pleased to announce the release of the NT4/5 Rapid™ ELISA kit to join the family of other neurotrophin related kits in this fast format - we like to call them our "Get your results before lunch" kits!. The kit is suitable for quantification of NT4/5 in tissue extracts, serum, plasma and cell culture media from a wide variety of species including human, primate, rat and mouse. Unlike other companies, Biosensis Rapid™ ELISAs do not compromise on accuracy and precision, so your experiment will have the absolute value. 

  NT4 standard curve

Neurotrophin 4/5 (NT4/5) Rapid™ ELISA Kit: Human, Mouse, Rat and Monkey 

Standard curve of our new Neurotrophin 4/5 (NT4/5) Rapid™ ELISA Kit (Catalog No# BEK-2218-2P).
Plus: Watch our Rapid™ technology in action with our new video here.

  



If you have a query on any of our products, one of our experienced researchers can help at biospeak@biosensis.com.
   
Until next time, good luck with your research.
 
Sincerely,
The Biosensis Team
 
Contact Information
Biosensis Pty Ltd
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Email: info@biosensis.com
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