Cytokine Receptor-Like Factor 1 (CRLF1) Protects against 6-Hydroxydopamine Toxicity Independent of the gp130/JAK Signaling Pathway

Oxidative stress is an important cause of cellular toxicity in the central nervous system and contributes to the pathology associated with neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease. As such, elucidation of cellular mechanisms that enhance neuronal resistance to oxidative stress may provide new avenues for therapy. In this study we employed a simple two-state cellular model to identify genes that are associated with resistance to oxidative stress induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). In this model, undifferentiated neuroblastoma cells display higher sensitivity to 6-OHDA than differentiated cells. By comparing the gene expression between these two states, we identified several genes whose expression is altered concomitant with changes in 6-OHDA sensitivity. This gene set includes cytokine receptor-like factor 1 (CRLF1), which is up-regulated during the differentiation process and has been previously implicated in neuroprotection. We show that the product of this gene is both necessary and sufficient for increased resistance to 6-OHDA in differentiated neuroblastoma cells, and that CRLF1 serves its protective role by a cell autonomous mechanism that is independent from its known role as a co-ligand for the ciliary neurotrophic factor receptor. These data provide an additional role for CRLF1 that could potentially explain its broad expression pattern and effects on cells lacking expression of this receptor.