Myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) in the CNS of adult shiverer (Shi/Shi) mice.

Brain fractions of adult control (+/+) and shiverer (Shi/Shi) mice were investigated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting. Immunostaining with specific antisera against rat brain myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) was detected at about the 96-kD region of gels in electrophoresed samples of the total homogenate, low-speed supernatant fraction, and low- and high-speed sedimentable portions of brain from +/+ mice. Reduced immunostaining was observed in the corresponding samples of brain fractions from Shi/Shi mice. The cerebrum, cerebellum, and medulla of +/+ and Shi/Shi mice were examined immunocytochemically for MAG on paraffin-embedded sections. Periaxonal immunostaining for MAG was observed in all the regions and the highest concentrations were in the corpus callosum, in the central cores of cerebellar folia, and in the medulla. Patterns of distribution were similar in +/+ and Shi/Shi mice, although the density of immunostaining around individual axons and the number of immunostained axons were significantly reduced in Shi/Shi mice. In addition, the three brain regions of Shi/Shi mice exhibited oligodendrocyte-like cells that contained immunostaining for MAG in the cytoplasm and periphery of their perikarya. This type of immunostained cell was not observed in +/+ mice. In this study, immunoblotting with brain fractions and immunocytochemistry revealed strong evidence for reduced concentrations of MAG in the CNS of Shi/Shi mice compared to control mice. In addition, there is immunocytochemical evidence for abnormal accumulation of MAG in perikarya of oligodendroglial-like cells, suggesting the possibility of a transport block for myelin proteins in the shiverer mutant.