TY - JOUR T1 - Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Determines the Growth Status of Injured Adult Sensory Neurons JF - The Journal of Neuroscience JO - J. Neurosci. SP - 7161 LP - 7170 DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.21-18-07161.2001 VL - 21 IS - 18 AU - William B. J. Cafferty AU - Natalie J. Gardiner AU - Isabella Gavazzi AU - James Powell AU - Stephen B. McMahon AU - John K. Heath AU - John Munson AU - James Cohen AU - Stephen W. N. Thompson Y1 - 2001/09/15 UR - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/21/18/7161.abstract N2 - Conditioning injury to adult mammalian sensory neurons enhances their regeneration potential. Here we show that leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a fundamental component of the conditioning response. Conditioning injury in vivo significantly increases the intrinsic growth capacity of sensory neurons in vitro from LIF+/+ mice. This conditioning effect is significantly blunted in sensory neurons from LIF−/− mice. Enhanced growth is rescued in vitro in LIF−/− mice by the addition of exogenous LIF, and the effect blocked by human LIF-05, an LIF receptor antagonist. Furthermore, we demonstrate that LIF promotes elongating but not arborizing neurite outgrowthin vitro and is required for normal regeneration of injured adult sensory neurons in vivo. LIF is also functionally protective to peptidergic sensory neurons after nerve damage in vivo. Our results indicate that the alteration in intrinsic growth status of injured sensory neurons depends, at least in part, on LIF. ER -