LEUKEMIA INHIBITORY FACTOR RESCUES MOTONEURONS FROM AXOTOMY-INDUCED CELL-DEATH

THE death of spinal motoneurones after axotomy provides a useful model for studying novel factors which prevent motoneurone loss in vivo. Pe ripheral nerves of newborn rats were unilaterally transected and treat ed with either a vehicle solution or leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) . Compared with the vehicle controls, treatment with a gelfoam contain ing LIF significantly reduced motoneurone loss: from 38% to 22% after 3 days and from 55% to 38% after 7 days. The loss of motoneurones was further reduced by placing the LIF-containing gelfoam inside a silicon e chamber: from 39% to 15% after 7 days, which represented a 62% rescu e. Thus, LIF is a potential therapeutic agent for preventing the loss of injured or diseased motoneurones.