Trk Receptors

Trk (tropomyosin-related kinase or neurotrophin) receptors are single transmembrane catalytic receptors with intracellular tyrosine kinase activity. Trk receptors are coupled to the Ras, Cdc42/Rac/RhoG, MAPK, PI3K and PLCγ signaling pathways. There are four members of the Trk family: TrkA, TrkB, TrkC and a related p75^NTR receptor. p75^NTR lacks tyrosine kinase activity and signals via NF-κB activation.

Each family member binds different neurotrophins with varying affinities. TrkA potently binds nerve growth factor (NGF) and is involved in differentiation and survival of neurons, as well as in control of gene expression of enzymes involved in neurotransmitter synthesis. TrkB has highest affinity for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and is involved in neuronal plasticity, longterm potentiation and apoptosis of CNS neurons. TrkC is activated by neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and is found on proprioceptive sensory neurons. p75^NTR binds neurotrophin precursors with high affinity and retains low affinity to the mature cleaved forms.

TrkA was originally identified as an oncogene, as it is commonly mutated in cancers, particularly colon and thyroid carcinomas.

External sources of pharmacological information for Trk Receptors :

• IUPHAR Receptor Code

• BJP Guide

Literature for Trk Receptors

Tocris offers the following scientific literature for Trk Receptors to showcase our products. We invite you to request* your copy today!

*Please note that Tocris will only send literature to established scientific business / institute addresses.

Depression Poster

Major depressive disorder is characterized by depressed mood and a loss of interest and/or pleasure. Updated in 2015 this poster highlights presynaptic and postsynaptic targets for the potential treatment of major depressive disorder, as well as outlining the pharmacology of currently approved antidepressant drugs.

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Huntington's Disease Poster

Huntington's disease (HD) is a severe monogenic neurodegenerative disorder, which is characterized by the prevalent loss of GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSN) in the striatum. This poster summarizes the effects of mutant huntingtin aggregation implicated in the pathology of HD, as well as highlighting the use of iPSCs for HD modeling.

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Parkinson's Disease Poster

Parkinson's disease (PD) causes chronic disability and is the second most common neurodegenerative condition. This poster outlines the neurobiology of the disease, as well as highlighting current therapeutic treatments for symptomatic PD, and emerging therapeutic strategies to delay PD onset and progression.

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Trk Receptor Gene Data