Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) mediated increase of choline acetyltransferase activity in mouse spinal cord neurons in culture.

The effects of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) on choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) enzyme activity in cultured mouse spinal cord neurons were examined. The administration of LIF to cultures at concentrations of 10 U/ml and higher enhanced ChAT activity approximately 3- to 4-fold in cultured spinal cord neurons. Among neurotrophic factors tested, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) stimulated the development of ChAT activity but to a smaller extent than LIF, while interleukin 3 (IL-3), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and nerve growth factor (NGF) showed no apparent effect on ChAT development. Our results indicate that LIF, which has not been known to have any trophic effect on mammalian central nervous system neurons to date, acts as a potent differentiation factor for ChAT in cholinergic neurons of mouse spinal cord in culture.