Summary
The axonal transport of 3H-fucose labelled glycoproteins along the developing optic pathway was studied by radioautography in 7-day and 18-day chick embryos after injection of 3H-fucose into the right eye.
In the 7-day embryos an axonal transport of labelled glycoproteins could be traced towards axon tops in the anteromedial aspect of the left optic lobe. The glycoprotein radioactivity reached the distal parts of the growing optic axons between 2 and 4 h after intraocular injection of labelled precursor indicating a rapid axonal transport of the order of at least 20 to 50 mm day-1.
In the 18-day embryos fucose labelled glycoproteins reached the optic tectum at 2 h after 3H-fucose injection. When the fate of the glycoproteins was analyzed at later survival times an accumulation of radioactivity in the tectal layers containing synapses of optic origin could be found for at least 48 h after precursor injection in the 18-day embryos. The present data indicate that throughout development glycoproteins synthesized in the nerve cell bodies reach the distal parts of growing and maturing axons. The hypothesis is proposed that glycoproteins rapidly reach the preterminal portion of the optic axons where they become integral proteins of the axolemma. From this location they may flow within the membrane structure to reach the synapse.
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This investigation was sponsored by the Swedish-Italian Research Group of Neurobiology. P.C.M. received financial support from Consiglio Nazionale delie Ricerche (C.N.R., Rome); J.S. was supported by grants from the Swedish Medical Research (no. B74-13X-2226-08C). We are indebted to Mrs. Marie-Louise Eskilson for her careful technical assistance and to Mr. Baldassarre Russo for his skilful help in photography.
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Gremo, F., Sjöstrand, J. & Marchisio, P.C. Radioautographic analysis of 3H-fucose labelled glycoproteins transported along the optic pathway of chick embryos. Cell Tissue Res. 153, 465–476 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00231541
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00231541