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Characterization Of Two Endogenous Trophic Factors Involved In Regeneration Of The Goldfish Optic Nerve, Jason Matthew Schwalb

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Unlike mammals, lower vertebrates are able to regenerate injured pathways of the central nervous system throughout life. The factors responsible for initiating this process are unknown. We have shown that in dissociated cell culture, goldfish retinal ganglion cells regenerate their axons in response to two factors derived from goldfish optic nerve glia. Axogenesis factor 1 (AF-1) is a small, hydrophilic peptide (700-900 daltons) that is inactivated by treatment with proteinase K, but heat-stable. A second factor, AF-2, is a basic polypeptide of c. 12kDa. Dissociated retinal cells remain viable in serum-free defined media for at least a week, but show …