Pintér M, Aszódi A, Friedrich P, Ginzburg I
Institute of Enzymology, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest.
Neurosci Lett. 1994 Mar 28;170(1):91-3. doi: 10.1016/0304-3940(94)90246-1.
Calpain activity of nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells shows a transient diminution in the early phase of differentiation. Calpain activity can be further decreased by a cell-permeable calpain inhibitor, calpeptin, which enhances the effect of NGF by stimulating neurite elongation. The number of neurites sprouted by one cell is not increased by calpeptin. A possible role of calpain inhibition during PC12 cells' early differentiation is discussed.