Title: brain-derived neurotrophic factor
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - brain-derived neurotrophic factor
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.11648
Status: current

Definition
Protein secreted by the brain that acts on neurons in the central and peripheral nervous systems; a member of the neurotrophin family of growth factors, related to the nerve growth factor (NGF).

Note
It is also secreted by contracting skeletal muscle and can be classified as a myokine.

Related Terms
- brain: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11647
- nerve growth factor (NGF): https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11914
- peripheral nervous systems: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12003

Source
- PAC, 2015, 87, 841. 'IUPAC Glossary of terms used in neurotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2015)' on page 853 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-0103)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11648/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11648/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11648/xml

Citation: Citation: 'brain-derived neurotrophic factor' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.11648
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Accessed: 2026-05-15T00:26:18+00:00