Tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) is a member of the Trk receptor tyrosine kinases family consisting of TrkA, TrkB and TrkC. The sequence of these family members is highly conserved. TrK's are activated by several neurotrophins, which are small protein growth factors that play a role in survival and differentiation of distinct cell populations. Neurotrophins, particularly brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), are key molecules regulating neuronal survival, development, function and plasticity. BDNF binding to its receptor, TrkB, results in receptor dimerization and autophosphorylation in the kinase domain, followed by activation of various signaling pathways. Western blotting analysis of rat hippocampus using anti-TrkB antibodies revealed activation of TrkB upon external stimuli (1).
TrkB is also known to be associated with tumor progression in neuroblastoma and certain other human malignancies. Recent reports indicate TrkB may participate in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in many malignancies including various carcinomas. TrkB blockade with anti-TrkB antibodies in the transitional cell carcinoma cells lines indicated that the anti-TrkB antibody blockade resulted in the down regulation of survivin and securing expression, followed by decreased proliferation, migration and invasion of the cancer cells (2). TrkB expression analyzed by immunohistochemistry using anti-TRKB antibodies in tissue samples and in cell lines from human patients in colorectal cancer revealed, high TrkB expression was associated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer patients and enhanced malignant potential in terms of proliferation, migration, invasion, and anoikis inhibition in cell lines indicating that TrkB could induce EMT and play an important role in cancer progression to metastasis (3). These results indicate that TrkB blockade may be a new strategy for cancer therapy. Novus Biologicals offers a wide variety of research tools for this highly conserved protein in the form of cell lysates, RNAi and anti-TrkB antibodies with reactivity against various species.
Novus Biologicals offers TrkB reagents for your research needs including:
