Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14, 10122-10142; doi:10.3390/ijms140510122 OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Molecular Sciences ISSN 1422-0067 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms Review TrkB Receptor Signalling: Implications in Neurodegenerative, Psychiatric and Proliferative Disorders Vivek K. Gupta 1,*, Yuyi You 1, Veer Bala Gupta 2, Alexander Klistorner 1,3 and Stuart L. Graham 1,3 1 Australian School of Advanced Medicine, Macquarie University, F10A, 2 Technology Place, North Ryde, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia; E-Mails:
[email protected] (Y.Y.);
[email protected] (A.K.);
[email protected] (S.L.G.) 2 Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research & Care, School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia; E-Mail:
[email protected] 3 Save Sight Institute, Sydney University, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
[email protected]; Tel.: +61-2-98-123-537; Fax: +61-2-98-123-600. Received: 27 March 2013; in revised form: 27 April 2013 / Accepted: 28 April 2013 / Published: 13 May 2013 Abstract: The Trk family of receptors play a wide variety of roles in physiological and disease processes in both neuronal and non-neuronal tissues. Amongst these the TrkB receptor in particular has attracted major attention due to its critical role in signalling for brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT3) and neurotrophin-4 (NT4). TrkB signalling is indispensable for the survival, development and synaptic plasticity of several subtypes of neurons in the nervous system. Substantial evidence has emerged over the last decade about the involvement of aberrant TrkB signalling and its compromise in various neuropsychiatric and degenerative conditions.