Interleukin-6 as a neurotrophic factor for promoting the survival of cultured basal forebrain cholinergic neurons from postnatal rats.
Human recombinant interleukin-6 (IL-6, B-cell stimulating factor-2) was capable of supporting neuronal survival in cholinergic neuron culture, prepared from 10-day-old rat brain septal region. Cell survival of the cultured cholinergic neurons was estimated by measuring the remaining choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activities after 6 days of culture. IL-6 at a concentration of 5 ng/ml maintained a more than 3-fold higher ChAT activity in the culture as compared with that in cultures without IL-6. The maximal dose of IL-6 was near 50 ng/ml. The concomitant addition of mouse nerve growth factor (NGF) and IL-6, both at maximal doses, had a synergistic effect on cholinergic cell survival. These results indicate that IL-6 can act as a neurotrophic agent, independent of the action of NGF, supporting neuronal survival of cultured postnatal rat septal cholinergic neurons. On the other hand, IL-6 did not affect the differentiation of the cultured embryonic rat septal cholinergic neurons, differently from the differentiation action by NGF.
Hama
T
T
Department of Neuroscience, Mitsubishi Kasei Institute of Life Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Miyamoto
M
M
Tsukui
H
H
Nishio
C
C
Hatanaka
H
H
D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D002799:Cholinergic Fibers / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000502:physiology*; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats
D015850:Interleukin-6; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase