Glia-derived nexin potentiates neurite extension in hippocampal pyramidal cells in vitro

Glia-derived nexin (GDN) is a serine protease inhibitor which promotes the outgrowth of neurites from neuroblastoma cells and from chick sympathetic neurons. However, it has not been demonstrated that this effect is independent of its protease inhibitory activity. We report here that, 48 h after the addition of GDN to astrocyte-free cultures of rat hippocampal cells, there was a significant increase in axon length, although dendrite length and the total number of neurites were unaffected. Nerve growth factor added alone had no significant effect nor was there any additional effect when it was added together with GDN. However, hirudin, a thrombin inhibitor purified from leeches, was found to mimic the GDN effect at similar molar concentrations of active protein. This suggests that the protease inhibitory activity is crucial for the neurite-promoting effect of GDN on hippocampal neurons.