A growth factor from neuronal cell lines stimulates myelin protein synthesis in mammalian brain.

Oligodendroglia growth factor (OGF) is a 16-kDa soluble protein produced by neuronal cell lines. This factor, when incubated with brain glia in culture, selectively stimulates growth of oligodendroglia, the myelin-producing cells of the CNS. OGF infused into the cerebral cortex of the adult rat accelerates the production of myelin proteins as shown by increased specific activity of the myelin enzyme 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphohydrolase (2',3'-CNPase), by stimulated synthesis of myelin basic protein, and by elevations in levels of myelin proteolipid protein RNA. The ability of OGF to induce myelin protein production in vivo suggests that neuron-secreted growth factors help to regulate myelin formation within the CNS.