Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published August 15, 1991 | Published
Journal Article Open

Localization of cholinergic differentiation factor/leukemia inhibitory factor mRNA in the rat brain and peripheral tissues

Abstract

Sympathetic neurons display considerable plasticity in the neurotransmitter and neuropeptide phenotypes they express in vitro and in vivo. The cholinergic differentiation factor (CDF, also known as leukemia inhibitory factor, LIF) induces cultured rat sympathetic neurons to become cholinergic, without affecting their survival or growth. To understand the role of this factor in normal development, it is essential to determine where it is produced in situ. To localize CDF/LIF mRNA, a semiquantitative, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction method was employed. Actin and tubulin mRNA were used as internal controls, and two different sets of CDF/LIF primers were compared. In postnatal rat peripheral tissues, CDF/LIF mRNA was selectively localized in the target area of developing, sympathetic cholinergic neurons; the mRNA was not detected in the targets of sympathetic noradrenergic neurons. This finding supports the hypothesis that CDF/LIF is a target-derived neuronal differentiation factor. In postnatal rat brain, CDF/LIF mRNA is localized selectively in two parts of the visual system, visual cortex and superior colliculus. Thus, CDF/LIF may play a role in this system as well.

Additional Information

© 1991 National Academy of Sciences. Communicated by Masakazu Konishi, May 30, 1991. I thank Colin McDonald for essential help in brain dissection and for comments on the manuscript; Story Landis, Mahendra Rao, Ming-Ji Fann, Norman Davidson, and Kai Zinn for useful comments and suggestions; Robert Schotzinger for help with dissection; and David Anderson for the generous use of his equipment and for comments on the manuscript. I thank Paul Patterson, in whose laboratory this work was carried out, for encouragement and advice and for help with the manuscript. This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award) and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association to Paul H. Patterson. The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Attached Files

Published - PNAS-1991-Yamamori-7298-302.pdf

Files

PNAS-1991-Yamamori-7298-302.pdf
Files (1.2 MB)
Name Size Download all
md5:ee73850996baead97012dbd47ccd4724
1.2 MB Preview Download

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 18, 2023