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Expression of Microtubule‐Associated Proteins During the Early Stages of Neurite Extension by Brain Neurons Cultured in a Defined Medium
Author(s) -
Couchie D.,
FaivreBauman A.,
Puymirat J.,
Guilleminot J.,
TixierVidal A.,
Nunez J.
Publication year - 1986
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.1471-4159.1986.tb00748.x
Subject(s) - neurite , polyclonal antibodies , microtubule , biology , period (music) , microtubule associated protein , in vivo , in vitro , microbiology and biotechnology , elongation , antibody , biochemistry , immunology , genetics , physics , acoustics , materials science , ultimate tensile strength , metallurgy
Immunoblotting analysis was used to identify the microtubule‐associated proteins (MAPs) present in cultures of mouse brain neurons. Polyclonal antibodies were raised against the two main adult brain MAPs, i.e., MAP 2 (300 kDa) and τ (60–70 kDa). Whatever the stage of the culture, which was performed in a defined medium (3 or 6 days), the anti‐MAP 2 serum detected several high‐molecular‐weight components (including MAP 2 ) and an entity with 62–65 kDa. Anti‐τ revealed essentially a major peak of 48 kDa (young τ) but also slightly cross‐reacted with the 62–65 kDa entity. During the culture period (0–6 days) the cells developed progressively a dense neuritic network; the concentration of the different MAPs increased in parallel but at different rates depending on the different species. The in crease in concentration of the high‐molecular‐weight components occurred before that of 48‐kDa τ. This suggests that high‐molecular‐weight MAPs and 48‐kDa τ might be involved respectively in the initiation and elongation of neu‐rites. In contrast, and since the main developmental changes in τ composition seen in vivo did not occur during the time course of the culture, this transition might be related to later events of neuronal differentiation.