Filament proteins in central, cranial, and peripheral mammalian nerves.

Abstract

Several classes of 10 nm filaments are reported in mammalian cells and they can be distinguished by the size of their protein subunit. The distribution of these filaments was studied in nerves from calves and other mammals [dog and rabbit]. From the display on polyacrylamide electrophoretic gels of proteins in extracts from fibroblast and central, cranial and peripheral nerves, the appropiate stained bands were cut and iodinated peptide maps were prepared. The similarities between the respective maps provide strong evidence for the presence of vimentin in cranial and peripheral nerves. The glial fibrillary acidic protein was found in axon preparations from the CNS, but was not identified in distal segments of some cranial nerves nor in peripheral nerve.