The peptides of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family transduce their signal through ligand-induced heteromeric complexes that consist of type I and type II serine/threonine kinases. Both TGF-beta receptors are abundant in many peripheral tissues, but clear evidence of their expression in cortical astrocytes and neurons has not been published so far. In this study, we investigated the expression of type I and type II TGF-beta receptors and their potential ligands (TGF-beta1, TGF-beta2, and TGF-beta3) in the CNS by using RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Moreover, to further the study of those cell types that exhibit TGF-beta isoforms and related receptors, we examined through the use of RT-PCR whether cortical neurons and astrocytes in culture express the mRNAs for TGF-betas and their receptors. We show that the three TGF-beta isoform mRNAs are present in the CNS. However, although astrocytes in culture display all three isoforms, neurons in culture express only TGF-beta2. We have demonstrated that both type I and type II TGF-beta receptor mRNAs and proteins are present in the CNS and in cultures of cortical neurons and astrocytes. Thus, TGF-betas may act as autocrine and paracrine signals in the CNS between both neurons and astrocytes via the same receptor systems as those found in peripheral tissues. TGF-beta1 has been shown to be induced following hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and may play a critical role in the pathophysiology of degenerative processes in the CNS. In the present investigation, we confirmed that the expression of TGF-beta1 was increased markedly up until 24 h and thereafter was stable over the first 3 days following permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral artery in mice. However, whereas the expression of the type I TGF-beta receptor was not altered by the ischemic insult, the pattern of the type II TGF-beta receptors was modified dramatically in the ischemic area 3 days after the occlusion. These data show that, even if ligands are present, they may not be able to transduce their signal. Finally, the present study clearly demonstrates that a knowledge of the expression of ligand-specific receptors following brain injury is a fundamental step in clarifying the involvement of cytokines in neurodegenerative diseases.