Effect of growth factors and cytokines on expression of amyloid beta protein precursor mRNAs in cultured neural cells.

We analyzed the effect of several growth factors and cytokines on the expression of amyloid beta protein precursor (APP) mRNAs in cultured mouse neuronal and glial cells. In neuronal cultures from embryonic day-15 brain. Northern blotting revealed that APP mRNAs increased by 1.3- to 2.6-fold when treated with nerve growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, interleukin 1, interleukin 2, interleukin 3, interleukin 6 or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor but not with tumor necrosis factor alpha. An S1 nuclease protection assay revealed that the enhanced APP mRNA in neuronal cultures was exclusively APP695 mRNA. On the other hand, astrocyte-enriched cultures prepared from postnatal day-2 brain did not show any significant alteration among these factors. We conclude that certain growth factors and cytokines could enhance APP 695 mRNA expression in neurons in vitro.