A method for the ultrastructural localization of acyltransferase enzymes involved in phospholipid metabolism has been applied to the developing rat trigeminal nerve. Determination of acyltransferase levels in the nerve indicated that a peak of activity occurs at the 8th day after birth with gradual declines of activity up to 15 days. Morphological surveys and determinations of cholesterol levels suggested that heavy myelin formation occurs in the nerve during this latter period. Fixed nerves incubated in a medium for localization of acyltransferases indicated deposition of reaction product associated with Golgi cisternae, intracellular smooth vesicles, and the plasma membrane of the Schwann cell in the incipient stages of myelin formation. Golgi-derived vesicles appeared to move toward the Schwann cell surface and fuse with the plasma membrane. Activity continued to be detectable in the plasma membrane of the internal mesaxon as long as cytoplasm was evident and mature myelin membrane was not yet formed. Cells in which myelin formation appeared advanced showed little or no enzyme marker. Consistent with cytochemical observations were biochemical determinations of acyltransferases which showed high levels of the enzymes in microsomes, while no activity could be detected in the myelin fraction. Acyltransferase reaction product was also observed in the Golgi apparatus of ganglion cell bodies, axoplasmic smooth vesicles, and the axolemma. Localization of acyltransferase enzymes in Schwann cells, ganglion cell bodies, and axons during development of the nerve is discussed in relation to membrane biogenesis in the nervous system.
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1 June 1973
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June 01 1973
ULTRASTRUCTURAL LOCALIZATION OF PHOSPHOLIPID SYNTHESIS IN THE RAT TRIGEMINAL NERVE DURING MYELINATION
Francine Benes,
Francine Benes
From the Department of Anatomy, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
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Joan A. Higgins,
Joan A. Higgins
From the Department of Anatomy, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
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Russell J. Barrnett
Russell J. Barrnett
From the Department of Anatomy, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
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Francine Benes
From the Department of Anatomy, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
Joan A. Higgins
From the Department of Anatomy, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
Russell J. Barrnett
From the Department of Anatomy, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
Dr. Benes' present address is the Section of Molecular Neurobiology, Division of Neurosciences, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California 90110.
Received:
August 28 1972
Revision Received:
February 02 1973
Online ISSN: 1540-8140
Print ISSN: 0021-9525
Copyright © 1973 by The Rockefeller University Press
1973
J Cell Biol (1973) 57 (3): 613–629.
Article history
Received:
August 28 1972
Revision Received:
February 02 1973
Citation
Francine Benes, Joan A. Higgins, Russell J. Barrnett; ULTRASTRUCTURAL LOCALIZATION OF PHOSPHOLIPID SYNTHESIS IN THE RAT TRIGEMINAL NERVE DURING MYELINATION . J Cell Biol 1 June 1973; 57 (3): 613–629. doi: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.57.3.613
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