BDNF (Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, ANON2) is a neurotrophin family growth factor that is expressed in the nervous system. It promotes neuronal survival and differentiation in the peripheral and central nervous systems during development. It plays an important role in axonal growth, pathfinding and in regulating dendritic morphology and growth. BDNF has a wide range of functions in adaptive neuronal responses, and it regulates synaptic transmission and plasticity at adult synapses in many regions of the CNS. It is also required for specific types of hippocampal-dependent memory and information storage. In immunohistochemistry, BDNF has cytoplasmic positivity in the hippocampus, cortex, and basal forebrain, and it is found throughout the nervous system as well as in the retina, kidney, prostate, motor neurons and skeletal muscle. References: Hippocampus. 2016 Jun;26(6):739-51, PMID: 26662461; Archives of Oral Biology. 54 (7): 689–95, PMID: 19467646; Frontiers in Neurology. 2018. 9, PMC: 6117390.