TY - JOUR T1 - Phenotypic Alteration of Astrocytes Induced by Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor in the Intact Adult Brain, As Revealed by Adenovirus-Mediated Gene Transfer JF - The Journal of Neuroscience JO - J. Neurosci. SP - 7228 LP - 7236 DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-19-07228.1997 VL - 17 IS - 19 AU - Fabrice Lisovoski AU - Said Akli AU - Elise Peltekian AU - Emmanuelle Vigne AU - Georg Haase AU - Michel Perricaudet AU - Patrick A. Dreyfus AU - Axel Kahn AU - Marc Peschanski Y1 - 1997/10/01 UR - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/17/19/7228.abstract N2 - Synthesis of the ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and its specific receptor (CNTFRα) is widespread in the intact CNS, but potential biological roles for this system remain elusive. Contradictory results have been obtained concerning a possible effect on the morphological and biochemical phenotype of astrocytes. To reassess this question, we have taken advantage of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer into the rat brain to obtain the local release of CNTF. Stereotaxic administration of CNTF recombinant adenovirus vectors into the striatum led to phenotypic changes in astrocytes located in regions that were related axonally to striatal neurons at the injection site. Astrocytes appeared hypertrophied and displayed an increase in both GFAP and CNTF immunoreactivity. This response was observed up to 5 weeks after injection, the longest time studied. It was not observed after the administration of a control vector. The methodology used in the present study, allowing us to analyze the effect of the factor in areas remote from the injection site, has provided conclusive evidence that CNTF affects the astroglial phenotype in the intact CNS. The characteristics of these effects may explain why contradictory results have been obtained previously, because this signaling system seems to have a low efficiency and therefore requires a high local concentration of the factor close to the target cells. One might speculate as to the involvement of a CNTF astroglio–astroglial signaling system in the organized response of a population of astrocytes to changes in CNS homeostasis detected locally, even by a single cell. ER -