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Retinoic acid responsive gene product, midkine, has neurotrophic functions for mouse spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion neurons in culture
Author(s) -
Michikawa M.,
Kikuchi S.,
Muramatsu H.,
Muramatsu T.,
Kim S. U.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of neuroscience research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.72
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1097-4547
pISSN - 0360-4012
DOI - 10.1002/jnr.490350509
Subject(s) - dorsal root ganglion , midkine , spinal cord , choline acetyltransferase , neurite , pleiotrophin , neurotrophic factors , neurotrophin , retinoic acid , nerve growth factor , neurotrophin 3 , gdf7 , biology , basic fibroblast growth factor , neuroscience , central nervous system , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , endocrinology , embryonic stem cell , growth factor , cell culture , brain derived neurotrophic factor , biochemistry , gene , genetics , receptor , in vitro
Abstract Midkine (MK) is the product of a retinoic acid responsive gene and is a member of a new family of heparin‐binding growth factors. Neurotrophic effects of MK were examined using cultured spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons derived from fetal mouse. MK, which was added to the culture medium at concentrations of 1–100 ng/ml, promoted survival of both types of neurons approximately 5‐fold after 7 days in culture. For spinal cord neurons, the increased survival was reflected in an increase of choline acetyltransferase activity. MK also promoted neurite extension in spinal cord (2‐fold) and DRG (1.7‐fold) neurons. The survival‐promoting activity of MK to these neurons was comparable to that of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). In spite of its significant effects on fetal neurons, MK was ineffective in sustaining survival of DRG neurons derived from postnatal mice. From these results, we conclude that MK is a neurotrophic factor to embryonic spinal cord and DRG neurons, and we propose that MK plays a significant role in embryogenesis of the nervous system. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.