Neuroblastoma cells are undifferentiated cells derived from the neural crest and are commonly used as models for studying neural function. Mouse N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells are derived from cancerous tissue and provide a model for studying the oncogenesis of neural cells. As growth hormone (GH) has been implicated as an autocrine or paracrine involved in neural regulation and in the induction or progression of cancer, the possibility that N1E-115 cells are sites of GH production and GH action was assessed. Using RT-PCR, cultured N1E-115 cells were found to express the mouse GH and GH receptor (GHR) genes. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated that both of the translated proteins (GH and its receptor) were abundantly present in the cytoplasm of these cells and their co-localization was established by confocal cytochemistry. GH action in these cells was determined in cells cultured for 72 h in the presence or absence of 10(-6) M or 10(-9) M mouse GH, which induced neurite sprouting and increased axon growth. In summary, the expression of GH and its receptor in GH responsive tumor-derived N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells suggests they provide a useful experimental model to assess GH actions in neural function or neural oncogenesis.