Abstract
This chapter provides evidence for one such nonstructural role in the form of a mitogenic activity residing within the myelin membrane. In vivo, this activity may be relevant to Schwann cell division characteristic of Wallerian degeneration. The chapter focuses on the component of the myelin membrane that may be the mitogenic signal for Schwann cell division. Perhaps the lipids in the myelin membrane act as a carrier to transport Myelin Basic Protein (MBP) into the cells where it is processed to generate a mitogen. Several physiochemical studies on MBP have demonstrated that addition of lipids to MBP causes an increase in its secondary structure such that limited regions of the protein become helical. Whether the macrophages lysosomally process the myelin membrane to release the entire MBP molecule or further proteolytically cleave it to release a peptide is yet to be determined. Preliminary experiments indicate that mitogenicity of MBP liposomes, like Myelin-Enriched Fraction, is dependent on functional lysosomal activity.
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