Enhancement of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) secretion, but not that of substrate plasminogen (PGn), by rat microglia stimulated with neuronal conditioned medium.

Assuming the presence of intercellular interactions between injured motoneurons and microglia in the axotomized facial nucleus, we investigated the effects of neuronal conditioned medium (NCM) on the release of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) from microglia. Zymography revealed that NCM markedly enhanced the release of uPA from microglia, although NCM itself did not contain a significant amount of uPA. In contrast, the secretion of plasminogen (PGn), a substrate of uPA, was not promoted by the NCM treatment. The specific effect of NCM was found to be quite distinct from that of microglial activators, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which reduce uPA release from microglia. In summary, Neuron-derived soluble molecules appear to stimulate microglia to enhance the production/release of uPA, but not that of PGn, by a mechanism independent of the activation reaction by IFN-gamma or LPS.