ATP induces leukemia inhibitory factor mRNA in cultured rat astrocytes.

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a cytokine involved in the survival and differentiation of the neural cells in the central and peripheral nervous systems. In the present study, we examined the effects of various neurotransmitter receptor agonists on LIF mRNA expression in cultured rat astrocytes, microglia and neurons to elucidate the cell types producing LIF and to clarify the neurotransmitter(s) regulating the mRNA expression. The results demonstrated that the expression of LIF mRNA was intensely induced by ATP in the cultured astrocytes. Experiments using ATP, UTP and related compounds showed the involvement of P2Y2 and P2Y4 purinoceptors in the expression induced by ATP.