Premium
Postnatal development of microtubules and neurofilaments in the rat optic nerve: A quantitative study
Author(s) -
Cuenca N.,
Fernandez E.,
de Juan J.,
Carreres J.,
Iniguez C.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.902630412
Subject(s) - neurofilament , biology , optic nerve , microtubule , cytoskeleton , neuroscience , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , immunohistochemistry , genetics , cell , immunology
In this paper the postnatal changes in the cytoskeleton of the rat optic nerve fibers are described and quantified. These changes are also compared with other parameters such as myelination and axonal caliber with the aim of describing a general pattern of optic nerve maturation from a morphological point of view. The results showed that during the first postnatal week microtubules outnumbered neurofilaments but between days 8 and 20 the neurofilaments rapidly increased and on day 20 were about twice as numerous as microtubules. This proportion remained almost unaltered from the end of the third weak to the 44th postnatal day. The comparison with other parameters suggested that the cytoskeleton, and in particular the proportion between its components, may be a more reliable index for measuring optic nerve maturation than other variables commonly used.