Mechanisms of neurodegeneration: How oxidative stress reduces proNGF axonal transport in basal forebrain cholinergic neurons

Profound and early basal forebrain cholinergic neuron (BFCN) degeneration is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. BFCNs depend for survival and function on retrograde axonal transport of neurotrophins like nerve growth factor (NGF). We have recently shown that the retrograde axonal transport of proNGF, the form of NGF found in the brain, is reduced with age in cultured BFCNs. ProNGF loss coincides with loss of its receptor, tropomyosin‐related …