Ciliary neurotrophic factor induced-increase in beta-amyloid precursor protein mRNA in rat C6 glioma cells

The effect of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) on beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene expression was investigated in cultured rat C6 glioma cells and human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. CNTF increased APP mRNA abundance in C6 glioma cells in a dose-dependent manner, with an approximately 3-fold increase in maximum observed after 24 h with a concentration of 1 ng/ml. However, no significant differences in the splicing pattern of the three major isoforms of APP mRNA were apparent between control and CNTF-treated C6 glioma cells. CNTF had no effect on APP mRNA abundance in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. These findings suggest that CNTF can modulate APP mRNA expression and might affect amyloidogenesis in Alzheimer's disease.