Distribution of the phosphorylated high molecular weight neurofilament protein (pNF-H) in neural tracts of the rat brain from the ninth to the fifteenth postnatal day.
Item
-
Title
-
Distribution of the phosphorylated high molecular weight neurofilament protein (pNF-H) in neural tracts of the rat brain from the ninth to the fifteenth postnatal day.
-
Identifier
-
AAI9605649
-
identifier
-
9605649
-
Creator
-
Poulos, Bradford Kieth.
-
Contributor
-
Adviser: David Soifer
-
Date
-
1995
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Biology, Neuroscience | Biology, Cell | Biology, Molecular
-
Abstract
-
The onset of synthesis and processing of individual cytoskeletal proteins can serve as an index of the maturation of specific groups of neurons. Analysis of Western blots of neurofilament proteins extracted from the developing brain had suggested that the appearance of the highly phosphorylated form of the highest molecular weight neurofilament protein, pNF-H, was both spatially and temporally regulated (eg (Fischer and Shea, 1991)). The present investigation increases the spatial and temporal resolution of those analyses. Serial sections of developing rat brains were immunohistochemical stained. RMO24.9, a NF-H - specific, phosphate-dependent monoclonal antibody, was chosen as the primary antibody. A seven-day window including postnatal days nine (P9) through postnatal day fifteen (P15) was investigated because previous studies demonstrated that the highest rate of increase in amount of pNF-H occurred during this period. The results of the present study were then correlated with studies that described the ontogeny of behaviors, and others that described onset of synaptogenesis, electrophysiological maturation, myelinogenesis and changes in rates of neurofilament protein transport. Of these, onset of pNF-H specific immunohistochemical staining was most highly correlated with onset of decreased neurofilament transport and onset of myelination-specifically onset of appearance of the nodes of Ranvier. With the pattern of onset of pNF-H immunoreactivity established for tracts in the normal rat brain, an attempt was made to alter the pattern of appearance of pNF-H in the brains of pups by exposing rat dams to aluminum lactate during gestation and lactation. Aluminum had been shown to cause changes in NF-H phosphorylation in adult rats (eg (Johnson and Jope, 1988)) and behavioral deficits in the pups of aluminum-exposed rat dams (eg (Muller et al. 1990)). However, the present study demonstrates that chronic exposure to large doses of aluminum lactate cause renal and gastric lesions. These lesions compromise the ability of dams to nurture their pups and make it impossible to ascribe any delay in CNS development or changes in levels of pNF-H directly to aluminum in this or any other developmental study.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
