Soluble factors from rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells stimulated cooperatively the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells.

Culture media from rat basophilic leukemia cells (RBL-2H3) induced the neurite outgrowth of rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells, a model system for neuronal differentiation. The extension of the neurite outgrowth was dependent on the culture time of RBL-2H3 cells in the DMEM medium. The DMEM medium conditioned by RBL-2H3 cells for 48 h induced neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells significantly. The neurite extension was much higher than that by medium containing 1 ng/ml nerve growth factor (NGF) but was rather lower than that by medium containing 10 or 50 ng/ml NGF. The neurite extension by 50 ng/ml NGF was completely suppressed by excess anti-NGF antibody (1-1.5 microg/ml), while the extension by culture medium conditioned by RBL-2H3 cells for 48 h was not completely suppressed in the presence of the same amount of anti-NGF antibody. The neurite extension by the culture medium of RBL-2H3 cells was also suppressed by anti-interleukin (IL)-6 antibody (1 microg/ml), although IL-6 itself (20 units) could scarcely induce the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells. This suggests that IL-6 in the culture medium of RBL-2H3 cells could be effective in inducing the neurite extension in cooperation with NGF. In the presence of an excess of both anti-NGF and anti-IL-6 antibodies, the culture medium of RBL-2H3 cells induced the neurite extension of PC12 cells. This suggests that the action of the various factors from RBL-2H3 cells may be synergistic as far as the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells is concerned.