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THE death of spinal motoneurones after axotomy provides a useful model for studying novel factors which prevent motoneurone loss in vivo. Peripheral nerves of newborn rats were unilaterally transected and treated with either a vehicle solution or leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF). Compared with the vehicle controls, treatment with a gelfoam containing LIF significantly reduced motoneurone loss: from 38 to 22 after 3 days and from 55 to 38 after 7 days. The loss of motoneurones was further reduced by placing the LIF-containing gelfoam inside a silicone chamber: from 39 to 15 after 7 days, which represented a 62 rescue. Thus, LIF is a potential therapeutic agent for preventing the loss of injured or diseased motoneurones.