HUMAN GLIAL-CELL LINE-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (GDNF) MAPS TO CHROMOSOME-5

Neurotrophic factors are essential neurone survival promoting molecule s that are often secreted and that bind to neuronal cell surface recep tors. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, GDNF, is a potent n eurotrophic factor that promotes the survival of dopaminergic neurones in cultures including embryonic neuronal cultures. We have mapped the gene encoding GDNF by two independent methods: using a cell hybrid pa nel and by fluorescent in situ hybridisation. We find GDNF lies on the short arm of human chromosome 5, at 5p13.1-p13.3.