Cytokines in neural regeneration.

Growth factors with already established multiple effects on non-neural cells continue to be of considerable interest to researchers with regard to the nervous system, where regulation of cell maintenance and plasticity in relation to lesion and regeneration is part of their functional repertoire. Fibroblast growth factors, interleukins, and type beta transforming growth factors are prominent representatives of such proteins. Ciliary neurotrophic factor is another multifunctional neurokine. The proposed role of this molecule as a 'lesion factor', however, is still not firmly settled.