FGF9: a motoneuron survival factor expressed by medial thoracic and sacral motoneurons.
In the nervous system, fibroblast growth factor-9 (FGF9) is produced mainly by neurons. By whole-mount in situ hybridization, on embryonic rat spinal cord, we observed Fgf9 expression in a subpopulation of motoneurons located in the thoracic and sacral regions of the median motor column that innervate the axial muscles. Furthermore, FGF9 prevented death of purified rat and chicken motoneurons in culture in the same concentration range as FGF2. The targets of FGF9 are more restricted than that of the other FGFs, however, because conversely to FGF1 or FGF2, FGF9 had only weak or inexistent survival effects on chicken ciliary neurons or rat DRG. FGF9 may therefore play a role as an autocrine/paracrine survival factor for motoneurons.
Garcès
A
A
INSERM U.382, Institut de Biologie du Développement de Marseille (INSERM-CNRS-Univ. Méditerraneé-AP Marseille), Campus de Luminy, Marseille, France.
Nishimune
H
H
Philippe
J M
JM
Pettmann
B
B
deLapeyrière
O
O
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002642:Chick Embryo; D051525:Fibroblast Growth Factor 9; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors; D005726:Ganglia, Parasympathetic / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000378:metabolism*; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012445:Sacrococcygeal Region; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*
C496461:Fgf9 protein, rat; D051525:Fibroblast Growth Factor 9; D006133:Growth Substances; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors