Rat hypothalamus neuron-like cells in primary culture accumulate and translate mRNA coding for the amphibian P-domain peptide xP1.

1. Neurons seem to possess the intrinsic capability to incorporate and translate exogenous RNA. For further evaluation of this phenomenon, we wanted to study the uptake and processing capacity of rat hypothalamic neurons for species-unspecific heterologous cRNA under in vitro conditions. 2. cRNA coding for the amphibian p-domain peptide xP1 was prepared by in vitro transcription and added to the culture medium of rat hypothalamic cells, derived from E18 fetuses. 3. After 2 hr, a fraction of the hypothalamic neuron-like cells had accumulated the radiolabeled transcripts, as could be demonstrated by autoradiographic assessment. Specific immunostaining for xP1 could be demonstrated 18 hr after incubation with the cRNA. 4. Our findings indicate that hypothalamic neuron-like cells are capable of accumulating and translating nonmammalian transcripts. Since it was only a portion of hypothalamic cells that showed this effect, specific recognition sites for RNA may be presented by certain neurons, further supporting the assumption that binding, uptake, and translation of cRNA transcripts represent a general neural property which is malleable to functional status.