Regional distribution of myelin basic protein in the central nervous system of quaking, jimpy, and normal mice during development and aging

Accelerated differentiation of oligodendrocytes in neuronal-rich embryonic mouse brain cell cultures

The expression of two oligodendroglial markers, galactocerebroside (GC) and myelin basic protein (MBP), was studied in brain cell cultures (BCC) from 14-day-old mouse embryos by immunocytochemical methods. The presence of neurons and astrocytes was also investigated. Results show that oligodendrocytes simultaneously express both GC and MBP already at 7 days in vitro. These cultures are rich in neurons, and the astrocyte layer is also well represented. A comparison is made between these data and those previously obtained by the use of newborn mouse brain cell cultures, which are very poor in neurons. The differentiation of oligodendrocytes, as reflected in the expression of MBP, is accelerated in embryonic mouse BCC when compared to neonatal mouse BCC. We therefore speculate that neurons are involved in the enhancement of the ability of oligodendrocytes to express myelin related components in culture.

Oligodendrocytes of jimpy mice express galactosylceramide: an immunofluorescence study on brain sections and dissociated brain cell cultures

Brain sections and dissociated brain cell cultures of jimpy mouse (jp) were investigated for the presence of galactosylceramide (GC) by indirect immunofluorescence. Optic nerve and corpus callosum sections of 26-day-old jp exhibited many GC-positive cells. The GC staining pattern was similar in jp and normal cultures of the same age. These data suggest that the previously observed decreased amount of GC in jp brain is due to the inability of jp oligodendroglia to properly deposit GC in the myelin, while its synthesis is possible.