Abstract
The presence of a glycoprotein in myelin has been recently reported (Quarles et al.Biochem.biophys.Res.Commun.47, 491, 1972). Since glycoproteins on the plasma membrane of cells are believed to be involved in specific cell-to-cell interactions, the myelin associated glycoprotein could be involved in contact relationships between axons and oligodendrocytes or between the different layers of myelin. Myelin-associated glycoproteins were investigated during myelination in normal rats and in normal and myelin-deficient mutant mice. Glycoproteins were labelled in vivo by injection of [3H] or [14C] fucose, and purified myelin fractions were prepared. Proteins were extracted with SDS, separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and stained with Fast Green or periodic acid-Schiff reagents. Radioactivity was measured in gel slices by liquid scintillation spectrometry. This study has shown anomalies of the myelin-associated glycoprotein in the myelin-deficient mutants which could impair the recognition between oligodendrocyte and axon, and consequently involve an arrest in myelinogenesis. These and other results from this laboratory suggest a role of this glycoprotein in the processes of myelination.
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