Myelin abnormalities in mice deficient in galactocerebroside and sulfatide

Jeffrey L. Dupree, Timothy Coetzee, Kinuko Suzuki, Brian Popko*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

71 Scopus citations

Abstract

Myelin sheath formation depends on appropriate axo-glial interactions that are mediated by myelin-specific surface molecules. In this study, we have used quantitative morphological analyses to determine the roles of the prominent myelin lipids galactocerebroside (GalC) and sulfatide in both central and peripheral myelin formation, exploiting mutant mice incapable of synthesizing these lipids. Our results demonstrate a significant increase in uncompacted myelin sheaths, the frequency of multiple cytoplasmic loops, redundant myelin profiles, and Schmidt-Lanterman incisures in the CNS of these mutant mice. In contrast, PNS myelin appeared structurally normal in these animals; however, at post-natal day 10, greater than 10% of the axons withered and pulled away from their myelin sheaths. These results indicate that GalC and sulfatide are critical to the formation of CNS myelin. In contrast, PNS myelin formation is not dependent on these lipids; however, GalC and sulfatide appear to be instrumental in maintaining Schwann cell- axon contact during a specific developmental window.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)649-659
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Neurocytology
Volume27
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 1998

Funding

This work was supported by Grants NS27336 (B.P.) and NS24453 (K.S.) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Mental Retardation Research Center Core Grant HD03110 from the NIH. J.D. and T.C. were supported by Advanced Postdoctoral Fellowships from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. We thank Dr Robert Bagnell, Victoria Madden, and Clarita Langa-man for their assistance with the electron microscopic analysis and Dr Cedric Raine for his insightful critique of the electron micrographs.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • Anatomy
  • Cell Biology
  • Histology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Myelin abnormalities in mice deficient in galactocerebroside and sulfatide'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this