CILIARY NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR-RECEPTOR-ALPHA MESSENGER-RNA IN NB41A3 NEUROBLASTOMA-CELLS - REGULATION BY CAMP

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) affects the in vitro and in vivo su rvival and differentiation of several classes of neurons by binding to the CNTF receptor alpha. We examined the possibility that intracellul ar cAMP can regulate CNTF receptor alpha mRNA levels in two neuronal c ell lines that display cAMP-dependent process outgrowth. Dibutyryl cAM P did not affect CNTF receptor alpha mRNA levels in PC12 cells but eli cited a dose- and time-dependent increase in NB41A3 cell CNTF receptor alpha mRNA levels. Forskolin similarly increased CNTF receptor alpha mRNA levels in NB41A3 cells. The data suggest that signal transduction mechanisms involving cAMP may 'crosstalk' with CNTF-initiated signal transduction in a cell type-specific manner and that CNTF receptor alp ha expression is not generally linked to neuronal process outgrowth.