Cultured cerebellar granule neurons die by apoptosis when switched from a medium containing an elevated level of potassium (K+) to one with lower K+ (5 mM). Death resulting from the lowering of K+ can be prevented by insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). To understand how IGF-1 inhibits apoptosis and maintains neuronal survival, we examined the role of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase). Activation of PI 3-kinase has been shown previously to be required for NGF-mediated survival in the PC12 pheochromocytoma cell line. We find that in primary neurons, IGF-1 treatment leads to a robust activation of PI 3-kinase, as judged by lipid kinase assays and Western blot analysis. Activation of PI 3-kinase is likely to occur via tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor substrate protein. Treatment with two chemically distinct inhibitors of PI 3-kinase, wortmannin and LY294002, reduces PI 3-kinase activation by IGF-1 and inhibits its survival-promoting activity, suggesting that PI 3-kinase is necessary for IGF-1-mediated survival. Death resulting from PI 3-kinase blockade is accompanied by DNA fragmentation, a hallmark of apoptosis. Furthermore, neurons subjected to PI 3-kinase blockade can be rescued by transcriptional and translation inhibitors, suggesting that IGF-1-mediated activation of PI 3-kinase leads to a suppression of "killer gene" expression. In sharp contrast to IGF-1, elevated K+ does not activate PI 3-kinase and can maintain neuronal survival in the presence of PI 3-kinase inhibitors. Therefore, survival of granule neurons can be maintained by PI 3-kinase dependent (IGF-1-activated) and independent (elevated K+-activated) pathways.