| Abstract: | Transgenic mice studies have suggested that transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α) influences the postnatal differentiation of astrocytes. To understand the role of TGF-α during astrocytic differentiation, it is important to determine how this factor affects astrocytes in the absence of other influences. We have thus examined in vitro under serum-free medium conditions the effect of TGF-α on the properties of astrocytes derived from the cerebral cortex of newborn rats. When TGF-α is added to serum-free medium, most astrocytes lose their polygonal shape and extend two long processes running in opposite directions. This bipolar morphology strikingly resembles that of radial glial cells. Intriguingly, serum inhibits this morphological transformation. TGF-α also triggers an increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression and a decrease in nestin expression. Another major effect of TGF-α is to practically abolish the motility of astrocytes. TGF-α, however, does not appear to influence the proliferation and apoptosis of astrocytes. These results suggest that polygonal astrocytes are derived primarily from radial glial cells, and that in vivo TGF-α may be instrumental in determining the shape and migratory potential of radial glial cells. |
