Fujita K, Lazarovici P, Guroff G
Section on Growth Factors, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Environ Health Perspect. 1989 Mar;80:127-42. doi: 10.1289/ehp.8980127.
The PC12 clone, developed from a pheochromocytoma tumor of the rat adrenal medulla, has become a premiere model for the study of neuronal differentiation. When treated in culture with nanomolar concentrations of nerve growth factor, PC12 cells stop dividing, elaborate processes, become electrically excitable, and will make synapses with appropriate muscle cells in culture. The changes induced by nerve growth factor lead to cells that, by any number of criteria, resemble mature sympathetic neurons. These changes are accompanied by a series of biochemical alterations occurring in the membrane, the cytoplasm, and the nucleus of the cell. Some of these events are independent of changes in transcription, while others clearly involve changes in gene expression. A number of the alterations seen in the cells involve increases or decreases in the phosphorylation of key cellular proteins. The information available thus far allows the construction of a hypothesis regarding the biochemical basis of PC12 differentiation.
PC12细胞系源自大鼠肾上腺髓质嗜铬细胞瘤，已成为研究神经元分化的首选模型。当在培养物中用纳摩尔浓度的神经生长因子处理时，PC12细胞停止分裂，形成突起，变得具有电兴奋性，并会与培养物中合适的肌肉细胞形成突触。神经生长因子诱导的这些变化使细胞在多个标准下类似于成熟的交感神经元。这些变化伴随着细胞的膜、细胞质和细胞核中发生的一系列生化改变。其中一些事件与转录变化无关，而其他事件显然涉及基因表达的变化。在细胞中观察到的许多变化涉及关键细胞蛋白磷酸化的增加或减少。迄今为止可得的信息使得能够构建一个关于PC12分化生化基础的假说。
