Secretion of BDNF

BDNF is made in the endoplasmic reticulum and secreted from dense-core vesicles. It binds carboxypeptidase E (CPE), and the disruption of this binding has been proposed to cause the loss of sorting of BDNF into dense-core vesicles. The phenotype for BDNF knockout mice can be severe, including postnatal lethality. Other traits include sensory neuron losses that affect coordination, balance, hearing, taste, and breathing. Knockout mice also exhibit cerebellar abnormalities and an increase in the number of sympathetic neurons. Exercise has been shown to increase the secretion of BDNF at the mRNA and protein levels in the rodent hippocampus, suggesting the potential increase of this neurotrophin after exercise in humans. Caffeine improves recognition memory, and this effect may be related to an increase of the BDNF and TrkB immunocontent in the hippocampus.