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Cell‐surface expression of glia maturation factor β in astrocytes
Author(s) -
Lim Ramon,
Liu Yixin,
Zaheer Asgar
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.4.15.2253851
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , intracellular , astrocyte , cell , secretion , biology , cell type , chemistry , neuroscience , central nervous system , biochemistry
Glia maturation factor β (GMF‐ β ) is a 17‐kDa acidic protein isolated from the brain. When added to cultured cells, GMF‐ β promotes the phenotypic expression of glia and neurons and inhibits the proliferation of their respective tumors. Although astrocytes produce GMF‐ β and store it inside the cells, they do not secrete the protein into the cultured medium. This poses a question as to how GMF‐ β mediates intercellular communication. This paper provides an answer by demonstrating the presence of GMF‐ β on the surface of astrocytes, using gold‐labeled antibody enhanced with silver. It appears that cell‐surface GMF‐ β acts on the target cells at close range when cells are in direct contact. In contrast to astrocytes, we failed to detect GMF‐ β on the surface of C6 glioma cells, although these cells, like astrocytes, possess endogenous intracellular GMF‐ β and are also responsive to GMF‐ β added to the medium. The lack of cell‐surface expression of GMF‐ β in C6 cells may reflect a breakdown in intercellular communication in these malignant cells.—L im , R.; L iu , Y.; Z aheer , A. Cell‐surface expression of glia maturation factor β in astrocytes. FASEB J. 4: 3360–3363; 1990.