Nerve growth factor-stimulated mitogen-activated protein kinase activity is not necessary for neurite outgrowth of chick dorsal root ganglion sensory and sympathetic neurons.

Nerve growth factor (NGF)-stimulated neurite outgrowth in the rat PC12 tumor cell line recently has been shown to depend on the activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase 1 (MEK1) (Pang et al.: J Biol Chem 270:13585-13588, 1995). In this study we have analyzed whether or not function of the MAP kinase pathway is necessary for NGF-stimulated neurite outgrowth in two subtypes of primary neurons derived from the embryonic chick peripheral nervous system (PNS). Treatment of p21ras-dependent dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons (E9) with the MEK1 inhibitor PD98059 at concentrations up to 100 microM did not prevent NGF-stimulated neurite outgrowth. At this concentration NGF-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of MAP kinase p42 as well as MAP kinase activity both were decreased by approximately 80%. Essentially the same results were obtained with p21ras-independent sympathetic neurons (E12). We conclude that, in contrast to the PC12 tumor cell line, NGF-stimulated MAP kinase activity is not necessary for neurite outgrowth of DRG sensory and sympathetic neurons derived from the chick PNS.