The central goal of this proposal is to use recently obtained monoclonal antibodies which specifically bind to the protein portion of the nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor to further our understanding of the regulation by NGF of neural development and differentiation. Monoclonal antibodies will be used for immunoperoxidase staining of tissue sections to determine the cellular distribution of the NGF receptor. Experiments utilizing monoclonal antibodies for immunoprecipitation will better define the biochemical nature of the NGF receptor. The NGF receptor will be isolated by immunoaffinity chromatography and used for amino acid sequencing and as an immunogen for the preparation of new monoclonal and polyclonal reagents. Antisera will also be prepared against synthetic peptides based on the amino acid sequence of the receptor. A nucleic acid clone of the NGF receptor will be obtained by transfection of murine cells with human DNA using anti-receptor monoclonal antibodies to screen the resulting colonies. Such a DNA clone will allow complete sequencing of the receptor as well as studies of the function of the receptor, the regulation of its expression and its involvement in neural-related genetic diseases.