Studies of isolated, maintained oligodendroglia: biochemistry, metabolism, and in vitro myelin synthesis.

Oligodendroglia can be isolated in bulk from dissected white matter of lamb or bovine brain. Studies of the composition of the whole cell and of glial subfractions were performed to detect similarities to mature myelin. With care isolated oligodendroglia can now be maintained in culture for three to four days. While in culture the cells elaborate a form of glial myelin which has characteristics of both the intact cell and of mature myelin. Glial myelin reacts with both the antiserum to oligodendroglial surface components and with antiserum to galacto-cerebroside; it increases in amount with time in culture; if various radiolabeled substrates are added to the cells in culture, the glial myelin has both lipids and proteins which are extensively radiolabeled; the glial myelin has both basic protein and 2',3'-cyclic AMPase associated with it. Thus this model system may be an excellent system for studying myelin assembly in vitro.