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THE ISOLATION AND LIPID COMPOSITION OF MYELIN‐FREE AXONS FROM RAT CNS 1
Author(s) -
Vries G. H. De,
Hadfield M. G.,
Cornbrooks C.
Publication year - 1976
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.1471-4159.1976.tb04443.x-i1
Subject(s) - galactolipid , cerebroside , myelin , galactolipids , biochemistry , sphingomyelin , phospholipid , plasmalogen , biology , galactocerebroside , ganglioside , chemistry , cholesterol , oligodendrocyte , central nervous system , endocrinology , chloroplast , membrane , gene
—Myelin‐free axons were isolated from rat CNS using a modification of the method of D e V ries et al. (1972). On a dry weight basis, the axons contained 15·2% lipid composed of 19·4% cholesterol, 56·9% phospholipid and 23·7% galactolipid with a weight ratio of cerebroside to sulfatide of 3·6‐1. The phospholipid was composed of 11·0% ethanolamine phosphatides (44·4% in the plasmalogen form), 21·0% choline phosphatides (9·3% in the plasmalogen form), 4·5% sphingomyelin, 4·5% phosphatidyl serine, 4·3% phosphatidyl inositol, 3·0% diphosphatidyl glycerol and 8·5% unidentified phospholipid. The rat axons contained 0·18 μg ganglioside NeuNAc/mg dry wt. In addition to the 4 major brain gangliosides, the rat axons contained gangliosides G D2 and G D3 . The axonal galactolipid could not be accounted for by myelin contamination as revealed by electron microscopy, absence of the characteristic ratio of myelin specific proteins in the axonal protein profile as shown by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the axonal level of the myelin marker enzyme 2′,3′‐cyclic nucleotide‐3′‐phosphohydrolase. The relationship between lipids of axons isolated from rat and bovine CNS, and rat whole brain and CNS myelin is discussed.