Regulation of nerve growth factor content in C6 glioma cells by beta-adrenergic receptor stimulation.

The C6 glioma cell line contains nerve growth factor (NGF) which can be released into the medium. Treatment of the cells with beta-adrenoceptor agonists resulted in increased content of NGF in both the cells and the medium within a few hours, whereas alpha-adrenoceptor agonists were ineffective. The response was blocked by beta- but not alpha-adrenoceptor antagonists. The increase of the NGF content of glioma cells appeared to be mediated by an elevation of cyclic AMP or GMP. The addition to the cell cultures of other putative neurotransmitters failed to change the content of either NGF or cyclic AMP. These results are discussed with respect to a model for adrenergic neuron-glial interactions.