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ACID HYDROLASES AND OTHER ENZYMES IN SECONDARY DEMYELINATION: A QUANTITATIVE HISTOCHEMICAL STUDY IN THE WOBBLER MOUSE 1
Author(s) -
Hirsch Hilde E.,
Andrews J. M.,
Parks Mary Ellen
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1974.tb10745.x
Subject(s) - spinal cord , myelin , white matter , acid phosphatase , gliosis , enzyme , biology , dehydrogenase , endocrinology , medicine , glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase , biochemistry , central nervous system , neuroscience , radiology , magnetic resonance imaging
— The hereditary motor neuron degeneration found in the wobbler (wr) mouse was studied as a model of secondary demyelination. Lysosomal enzymes (acid phosphatase, acid proteinase, β‐glucuronidase and β‐galactosidase) were found elevated about three‐fold in the white matter of the affected cervical spinal cord as compared with normal controls; but they were either not increased, or increased much less, in the anterior horn. Since gliosis and influx of phagocytic cells are minimal in this model, the high hydrolase levels are believed to arise primarily from (a) the accumulations of axonal dense bodies seen in involved areas, and (b) from indigenous cells engaged in breaking down the myelin fragments. Thus, secondary demyelination may, at least in this case, be initiated by enzymes of local origin. DNA levels per unit weight of tissue in both white and gray matter of wobbler cervical cord were elevated 40‐50 per cent over controls. However, this was considered to reflect the stunted growth of wobbler mice rather than proliferation or influx of cells (an altered ratio of DNA to protein was demonstrated in the brain). Wobbler mice had similar levels of lactic dehydrogenase as controls; glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase was moderately elevated, and glycerol‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase was less active in the anterior horn but more active in the white matter of the spinal cord.