NEURITE PROMOTION FROM CILIARY GANGLION NEURONS BY GICERIN

Gicerin is a cell adhesion molecule of an immunoglobulin superfamily m ember and transiently expressed on the surface of neurons such as reti nal ganglion cells during synaptogenesis. Gicerin is a receptor for NO F (neurite outgrowth factor) that belongs to the laminin family, and m ediates neurite extension induced by NOF. As we have reported, gicerin also exhibits hemophilic cell adhesion activity, we compared the patt erns of extending neurites induced by hemophilic and heterophilic cell adhesion activities of gicerin using ciliary ganglion (CG) neurons. C G neurons expressed gicerin and extended neurites on a feeder layer of gicerin-transfected cells, suggesting a neurite extension by gicerin- gicerin (hemophilic) interaction. We found that CG neurons cultured on gicerin-transfected cells extended slightly branched neurites, while those cultured on NOF-coated substratum extended many long branched ne urites. It is suggested that neurites induced by hemophilic or heterop hilic cell adhesion activities of gicerin differ in the length and bra nching. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.