RT Journal Article T1 Fast and Sustained Axonal Growth by BDNF Released from Chitosan Microspheres A1 Aranaz Corral, Inmaculada A1 Acosta Contreras, Florentina Niuris A1 Revuelta Crespo, Julia A1 Bastida Codina, Agatha A1 Gómez Casado, Víctor A1 Civera Tejuca, María Concepción A1 Garrido Fernández, Leoncio A1 García Junceda, Eduardo A1 Heras Caballero, Ángeles María A1 Alcántara León, Andrés Rafael A1 Fernández Mayoralas, Alfonso A1 Doncel Pérez, Ernesto AB Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) regulates dendritic branching and dendritic spine morphology, as well as synaptic plasticity and long-term potentiation. Consequently, BDNF deficiency has been associated with some neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or Huntington’s diseases. In contrast, elevated BDNF levels correlate with recovery after traumatic central nervous system (CNS) injuries. The utility of BDNF as a therapeutic agent is limited by its short half-life in a pathological microenvironment and its low efficacy caused by unwanted consumption of non-neuronal cells or inappropriate dosing. Here, we tested the activity of chitosan microsphere-encapsulated BDNF to prevent clearance and prolong the efficacy of this neurotrophin. Neuritic growth activity of BDNF release from chitosan microspheres was observed in the PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cell line, which is dependent on neurotrophins to differentiate via the neurotrophin receptor (NTR). We obtained a rapid and sustained increase in neuritic out-growth of cells treated with BDNF-loaded chitosan microspheres over control cells (p < 0.001). The average of neuritic out-growth velocity was three times higher in the BDNF-loaded chitosan microspheres than in the free BDNF. We conclude that the slow release of BDNF from chitosan microspheres enhances signaling through NTR and promotes axonal growth in neurons, which could constitute an important therapeutic agent in neurodegenerative diseases and CNS lesions PB MDPI SN 1660-3397 YR 2023 FD 2023-01-27 LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/103585 UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/103585 LA eng NO Aranaz, I., Acosta, N., Revuelta, J., Bastida, A., Gómez-Casado, V., Civera, C., Garrido, L., García-Junceda, E., Heras, Á., Alcántara, A. R., Fernández-Mayoralas, A., & Doncel-Pérez, E. (2023). Fast and Sustained Axonal Growth by BDNF Released from Chitosan Microspheres. Marine drugs, 21(2), 91. https://doi.org/10.3390/md21020091 NO Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España) NO Unión Europea NO Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional DS Docta Complutense RD 6 abr 2025