J. Clos et E. Dicou, 2 PEPTIDES DERIVED FROM THE NERVE GROWTH-FACTOR PRECURSOR ENHANCE CHOLINERGIC ENZYME-ACTIVITIES IN-VIVO, Developmental brain research, 99(2), 1997, pp. 267-270
LIP1, a 29-amino acid (aa) peptide, and LIP2, a 38aa peptide, correspo
nding to sequences within the nerve growth factor (NGF) precursor that
are flanked by basic amino acid processing sites, were shown to be pr
esent in the rat intestine and to induce in PC12 cells several early c
ellular events, such as F-actin rearrangement and tyrosine phosphoryla
tion of the Trk protein. In this report, we provide evidence that the
two propeptides can affect cholinergic enzyme activities in vivo. Intr
acerebroventricular injections of LIP1 or LIP2 in neonatal hypothyroid
rats significantly increased choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and ace
tylcholinesterase (AChE) activities in forebrain regions with an appar
ent regional specificity. Moreover, antibodies against LIP1 or LIP2 in
jected intracerebroventricularly in neonatal rats significantly decrea
sed ChAT and AChE in the same regions of the brain. These data suggest
a physiological role for the two propeptides derived from the proNGF
in the development of forebrain cholinergic neurons. (C) 1997 Elsevier
Science B.V.