Ciliary neurotrophicfactor receptor (Y (CNTFRo() is essential for normal embryonic development and may be involved in postnatal and adult neuronal maintenance.In addition, a rapidly growing body of evidence suggests that CNTFRo( serves as a site of action for future growth factor therapeutics capable of treating a wide variety of disorders resulting from neuronal loss.We raised two polyclonal, anti-CNTFRoc antisera against synthetic peptides corresponding to independent regions of rat CNTFRo(.Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses indicated that affinity-purified preparations of both antisera specifically recognize CNTFRa.In the adult brain, the highest levels of CNTFRcv immunoreactivity were found in the perikarya, dendrites and, occasionally, the axons of several distinct classes of neurons including hippocampal formation neurons, some sensory neurons, and many neurons involved in motor control.CNTFRo( immunoreactivity also was concentrated in the following: perikarya, dendrites, and axons of ventral horn motor neurons in adult spinal cord; perikarya and axons of adult dorsal root ganglion neurons; and axons in adult peripheral nerve.In embryonic tissue, the highest levels of CNTFRcv immunoreactivity were observed in differentiating neurons and their processes.Therefore, the present data suggest that CNTFRcv serves several diverse functions in adulthood and during development.
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MacLennan et al. (1996) studied this question.