INHIBITION OF NGF-INDUCED NEURITE OUTGROWTH OF PC12 CELLS BY BACILLUS-CEREUS SPHINGOMYELINASE, A BACTERIAL HEMOLYSIN

Sphingomyelinase of Bacillus cereus, a bacterial hemolysin, reduced nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells in a dose-dependent manner. At 200 mU/ml, sphingomyelinase repressed half the neurite outgrowth of the cells at 250 ng/ml NGF. The c-fos superinduction, one of the early responses induced by NGF, was not influenced by this treatment, suggesting that the repression by sphingomyelinase occurred via a protein kinase C-independent pathway.