Retinoic acid enhances Erk phosphorylation in the chick retina

The transcriptional activator retinoic acid (RA) is a regulator of neural development and regeneration. Synergistic effects with brain-derived neurotrophic factor suggested that RA influences neurotrophin signaling. To test this hypothesis RA was administered systemically to E17 chick embryos, and retinas were prepared 12 h and 24 h later to measure mRNA or protein expression. While there was no significant influence on activation of Akt, CREB and STAT-3, RA-treatment caused elevated levels of Erk-phosphorylation, a kinase involved in Trk signaling. A small but significant increase in the expression of TrkB mRNA and protein was observed but no significant change in TrkA, TrkC and p75 expression.