Enhanced expression of neurotrophic factors by C6 rat glioma cells after transfection with glia maturation factor

Glia maturation factor (GMF) is a 17-kDa protein unique to the nervous syst em. Although GMF was initially characterized as a growth/differentiation fa ctor, the absence of a leader sequence and its intracellular localization i n normal brain suggest an intracellular function as well. In this paper we transfected the C6 glioma cells with GMF cDNA by infecting the cells with a GMF/adenovirus construct, The transfected cells overexpressed GMF but did not secret the protein into the culture medium. However, the transfected ce lls showed an increased expression of the neurotrophic factors including ne rve growth factor (NGF) a nd brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The increase in neurotrophic activity of the C6 cell conditioned medium was dem onstrable by its ability to promote neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. (C) 19 99 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. AII lights reserved.