ABSTRACT
Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) strongly stimulates the generation of differentiated neurons in cultures of neuroepithelial cells of the embryonic chick neural retina in the presence of a laminin-1 tissue culture substrate. Treatment of cultured neuroepithelial cells with IGF-I rapidly up-regulated the mRNA coding for the α6 integrin subunit whereas specific reduction of α6 subunit levels by treatment with an α6 integrin antisense oligonucleotide resulted in reduced neuronal differentiation in vitro. Although IGF-I immunoreactivity is seen throughout the neural retina, expression of IGF-I mRNA is confined to the pigment epithelium during the period of neurogenesis in vivo. Neutralization of the endogenous IGF-I with a blocking antibody down-regulated levels of α6 integrin mRNA and reduced the production of differentiated retinal neurons in vivo. These data indicate a role for IGF-I in the generation of retinal neurons mediated by the interaction of laminin with its α6 integrin subunit-containing receptor.
