Production of nerve growth factor enhanced in cultured mouse astrocytes by glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and their related compounds.

The NGF secretion from cultured mouse astrocytes was enhanced by sublethal concentrations of phosphatidic acid (PA), ceramide, or sphingosine (Sph), and concentration dependently by lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC), or sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), but was unaffected by any concentrations of phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) or sphingomyelin (SM). The enhancement of NGF synthesis by Sph was completely inhibited by the addition of ceramide synthase inhibitor, fumonisin B1. LPA and S1P showed similar hyperbolic curves with maximum NGF secretion at concentrations of more than 50 microM, but they showed no proliferative effect on quiescent astrocytes.