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Macrophage‐stimulating protein is a neurotrophic factor for embryonic chicken hypoglossal motoneurons
Author(s) -
Schmidt Oliver,
Doxakis Epamidas,
Davies Alun M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1046/j.0953-816x.2001.01834.x
Subject(s) - neurite , neurotrophic factors , neurotrophin , biology , embryonic stem cell , hepatocyte growth factor , microbiology and biotechnology , population , neuroscience , brain derived neurotrophic factor , receptor tyrosine kinase , ciliary neurotrophic factor , receptor , signal transduction , in vitro , genetics , medicine , environmental health , gene
Macrophage‐stimulating protein (MSP) exerts a variety of biological actions on many cell types, but has no known functions in the brain. MSP is structurally related to hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), another pleiotropic factor whose many functions include promoting neuronal survival and growth. To investigate whether MSP is also capable of acting as a neurotrophic factor, we purified hypoglossal motoneurons from the embryonic chicken hindbrain because these neurons are known to express the MSP receptor tyrosine kinase RON. MSP promoted the in vitro survival of these neurons during the period of naturally occurring neuronal death and enhanced the growth of neurites from these neurons. MSP mRNA was detected in the developing tongue whose musculature is innervated by hypoglossal neurons. Our study demonstrates that MSP is a neurotrophic factor for a population of developing motoneurons.