title: Interleukin-6 improves the survival of mesencephalic catecholaminergic and septal cholinergic neurons from postnatal, two-week-old rats in cultures.
abstract: Interleukin-6 (human recombinant) supported the survival of cultured mesencephalic, catecholaminergic and septal cholinergic neurons from postnatal, two-week-old (P13-P15) rats. Significantly, more catecholaminergic neurons, stained by monoclonal anti-tyrosine hydroxylase antibody, were found in cultures supplemented with interleukin-6 at a concentration of 5 ng/ml than in cultures not treated with interleukin-6. The optimal dose used was 50 ng/ml. The survival effect of interleukin-6 on postnatal rat, tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons was observed both in cultures using serum-containing and serum-free medium. Contents of dopamine and noradrenaline in cultures with interleukin-6 were also larger than in control cultures. Interleukin-6 also increased the survival of cultured embryonic (E17) rat midbrain tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons. The effect on these neurons was, however, smaller, and the optimal dose of interleukin-6 was nearly 5 ng/ml. Interleukin-6 also supported the survival of cultured postnatal (P13) rat septal cholinergic neurons, visualized by acetylcholinesterase staining. The concomitant addition of mouse nerve growth factor (100 ng/ml) and interleukin-6 (50 ng/ml) had a synergetic effect on the survival of acetylcholinesterase-positive neurons in culture. Our data suggest that the survival of cultured tyrosine hydroxylase-positive, mesencephalic, and acetylcholinesterase-positive, septal neurons from postnatal two-week-old rats was supported by interleukin-6, just as there was a different dose dependency of interleukin-6 on the cultured postnatal neurons compared with embryonic neurons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Mitsubishi Kasei Institute of Life Sciences, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hama
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kushima
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takei
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hatanaka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D010275:Parasympathetic Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D012688:Septum Pellucidum / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D015850:Interleukin-6