Regulation of oligodendrocyte cell survival and differentiation by ciliary neurotrophic factor, leukemia inhibitory factor, oncostatin M, and interleukin-6.

The regulation and maintenance of developmental lineages by trophic factors, both cell-mediated and soluble, is a key aspect of cellular differentiation in the nervous system. In this review we focus on oligodendrocytes and their progenitors and how differentiation and survival are regulated by four neuropoietic cytokines: ciliary neurotrophic factor, leukemia inhibitory factor, oncostatin M, and interleukin-6 (IL-6). We discuss how these cytokines act as "broad spectrum" factors. That is, how, even within a specific cell lineage, a given cytokine may have different effects on the target cells at various stages of differentiation.