title: Self-segregation of myelin membrane lipids in model membranes.
abstract: Rapid conduction of nerve impulses requires coating of axons by myelin sheaths, which are multilamellar, lipid-rich membranes produced by oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system. To act as an insulator, myelin has to form a stable and firm membrane structure. In this study, we have analyzed the biophysical properties of myelin membranes prepared from wild-type mice and from mouse mutants that are unable to form stable myelin. Using C-Laurdan and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, we find that lipids are tightly organized and highly ordered in myelin isolated from wild-type mice, but not from shiverer and ceramide synthase 2 null mice. Furthermore, only myelin lipids from wild-type mice laterally segregate into physically distinct lipid phases in giant unilamellar vesicles in a process that requires very long chain glycosphingolipids. Taken together, our findings suggest that oligodendrocytes exploit the potential of lipids to self-segregate to generate a highly ordered membrane for electrical insulation of axons.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Larisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yurlova
authors.forename: Nicoletta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kahya
authors.forename: Shweta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.forename: Hermann-Josef
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chiantia
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bakhti
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pewzner-Jung
authors.forename: Oshrit
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ben-David
authors.forename: Anthony H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Futerman
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brügger
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simons
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004058:Diffusion; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008566:Membranes / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008818:Mice, Neurologic Mutants; D008954:Models, Biological; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000378:metabolism*; D013107:Sphingolipids / Q000378:metabolism; D014020:Tissue Extracts
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D013107:Sphingolipids; D014020:Tissue Extracts