The vimentin-GFA protein transition in rat neuroglia cytoskeleton occurs at the time of myelination.

Extraction with Triton, a nonionic detergent, is a common procedure to prepare intermediate filament enriched fractions from cells maintained in culture. The Triton-Insoluble fraction is called a cytoskeletal preparation. Using this procedure, we previously demonstrated that vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFA) are major cytoskeletal proteins of neuroglia, in newborn and adult rat brain, respectively. In the present communication we report that the vimentin-GFA transition in rat brain occurs during the 2nd-3rd week, ie, at the time of rapid myelination when dividing glioblasts in white matter differentiate into oligodendroglia and interfascicular astrocytes.