Early expression of proteolipid protein in human fetal and infantile cerebri.
Proteolipid protein (PLP) is the major myelin protein of the central nervous system and is widely believed to play an important structural role in maintaining the myelin compaction. We have studied the early developmental changes of PLP with immunohistochemical methods. Our data demonstrate for the first time a comparable scheme for the development of PLP during myelination in human fetal and infant cerebrum. Expression of PLP was first detected in the pallidothalamic fibers and globus pallidus at 20 weeks; it then extended to the striatum at 28 weeks, pericentral gyri and optic radiation at 35 weeks, and acoustic radiation at 40 weeks. Compared to the expression of myelin basic protein (MBP), another major myelin protein in the central nervous system, the developmental changes of PLP is in the same order as MBP, but the PLP immunoreactivity revealed greater and earlier appearance in the cerebrum than that of MBP in the fetal period. These results imply that PLP is a sensitive and useful marker for early myelination and its disorders.
Iai
M
M
Division of Mental Retardation and Birth Defect Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan.
Yamamura
T
T
Takashima
S
S
D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018991:Myelin Proteolipid Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D013997:Time Factors
D018991:Myelin Proteolipid Protein