Abstract
The glaucoma-associated gene, myocilin, is expressed in ocular and non-ocular tissues including the peripheral nervous system, but its functions in these tissues remain poorly understood. We demonstrate that in sciatic nerve, myocilin is expressed in Schwann cells with high concentrations at the nodes of Ranvier. There, myocilin interacts with gliomedin, neurofascin, and NrCAM, which are essential for node formation and function. Treatment of isolated dorsal root ganglion cultures with myocilin stimulates clustering of the nodal proteins neurofascin and sodium channel Nav1.2. Sciatic nerves of myocilin null mice express reduced levels of several myelin-associated and basal membrane proteins compared with those of wild-type littermates. They also demonstrate reduced myelin sheath thickness and partial disorganization of the nodes. Myocilin signaling through ErbB2/3 receptors may contribute to these observed effects. Myocilin binds to ErbB2/ErbB3, activates these receptors, and affects the downstream PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. These data implicate a role for myocilin in the development and/or maintenance of myelination and nodes of Ranvier in sciatic nerve.
Highlights
Myocilin, a secreted glaucoma-associated protein, is detected in the sciatic nerve, but its function there is not clear
Immunofluorescent labeling of longitudinal sections of sciatic nerve confirmed that myocilin was located preferentially in Schwann cells, with individual cells showing different intensity of staining
Because myocilin is a secreted protein interacting with NrCAM and NF186 that are expressed in neurons, partial overlapping of myocilin immunofluorescence with neuronal marker neurofilament H immunofluorescence was observed (Fig. 3)
Summary
A secreted glaucoma-associated protein, is detected in the sciatic nerve, but its function there is not clear. Sciatic nerves of myocilin null mice express reduced levels of several myelin-associated and basal membrane proteins compared with those of wild-type littermates. They demonstrate reduced myelin sheath thickness and partial disorganization of the nodes. Myocilin binds to ErbB2/ErbB3, activates these receptors, and affects the downstream PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. These data implicate a role for myocilin in the development and/or maintenance of myelination and nodes of Ranvier in sciatic nerve
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