title: Neurotrophic effects of fibroblast growth factors on peptide-containing neurons in culture from postnatal rat hypothalamus.
abstract: Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) has been thought to act as a neurotrophic factor during early developmental stages in various brain regions, including the hypothalamus. In the present paper, we have studied the effect of bFGF on peptide-containing neurons cultured from the postnatal (1-3 days and 14 days after birth) rat hypothalamus. The addition of bFGF, or acid FGF (aFGF), to serum-free culture medium increased both survival and neurite growth of growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF)-containing neurons. The potency of bFGF was more than 10 times as great as that of aFGF. Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) did not have any significant effect on the survival of GRF neurons. Further, neither IGF-I nor aFGF modified the survival-promoting effect of bFGF on GRF neurons. bFGF promoted the survival of somatostatin- and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-containing neurons, too.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Gunma University, Maebashi, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohe
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okutomi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000502:physiology*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000502:physiology*; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000032:analysis*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D009479:Neuropeptides; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I