Developmental changes in BDNF protein levels in the hamster retina and superior colliculus

Quantitative studies of ontogenetic changes in the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA and its effector, BDNF protein, are not ava ilable for the retinal projection system. We used an electrochemiluminescen ce immunoassay to measure developmental changes in the tissue concentration of BDNF within the hamster retina and superior colliculus (SC). In the SC, we first detected BDNF (about 9 pg/mg tissue) on embryonic day 14 (E14). B DNF protein concentration in the SC rises about fourfold between (E14) and postnatal day 4 (P4), remains at a plateau through P15, then declines by ab out one-third to attain its adult level by P18. By contrast, BDNF protein c oncentration in the retina remains low (about I pg/mg tissue) through P12, then increases 4.5-fold to attain its adult level on P18. The developmental changes in retinal and collicular BDNF protein concentrations are temporal ly correlated with multiple events in the structural and functional maturat ion of the hamster retinal projection system. Our data suggest roles for BD NF in the cellular mechanisms underlying some of these events and are cruci al to the design of experiments to examine those roles. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.