Activation of neurospecific gene expression by antennapedia homeobox peptide

Antennapedia homeobox peptide has been reported to enhance neurite outgrowt h and branching, Thus it is of interest to investigate whether antennapedia peptide is capable of modulating the expression of genes related to differ ent events of neuronal development. In this paper we report the enhancement of a 68 KDa neurofilament subunit, choline acetyltransferase and acetylcho linesterase expression in spinal cord neurons, elicited by antennapedia pep tide. Modulation of gene expression is different with respect to each gene product analyzed, suggesting a specific action of the peptide on diverse ge nes controlling different events of neuronal differentiation. (C) 2000 ISDN . Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.