Tissue lipoproteins revisited: new proteolipid protein gene family members in elasmobranchs

Embryonic development of glial cells and myelin in the shark, Chiloscyllium punctatum

Glial cells are responsible for a wide range of functions in the nervous system of vertebrates. The myelinated nervous systems of extant elasmobranchs have the longest independent history of all gnathostomes. Much is known about the development of glia in other jawed vertebrates, but research in elasmobranchs is just beginning to reveal the mechanisms guiding neurodevelopment. This study examines the development of glial cells in the bamboo shark, Chiloscyllium punctatum, by identifying the expression pattern of several classic glial and myelin proteins. We show for the first time that glial development in the bamboo shark (C. punctamum) embryo follows closely the one observed in other vertebrates and that neural development seems to proceed at a faster rate in the PNS than in the CNS. In addition, we observed more myelinated tracts in the PNS than in the CNS, and as early as stage 32, suggesting that the ontogeny of myelin in sharks is closer to osteichthyans than agnathans.

Cell and molecular biology of SAE, a cell line from the spiny dogfish shark, Squalus acanthias

Cartilaginous fish, primarily sharks, rays and skates (elasmobranchs), appeared 450 million years ago. They are the most primitive vertebrates, exhibiting jaws and teeth, adaptive immunity, a pressurized circulatory system, thymus, spleen, and a liver comparable to that of humans. The most used elasmobranch in biomedical research is the spiny dogfish shark, Squalus acanthias. Comparative genomic analysis of the dogfish shark, the little skate (Leucoraja erincea), and other elasmobranchs have yielded insights into conserved functional domains of genes associated with human liver function, multidrug resistance, cystic fibrosis, and other biomedically relevant processes. While genomic information from these animals is informative in an evolutionary framework, experimental verification of functions of genomic sequences depends heavily on cell culture approaches. We have derived the first multipassage, continuously proliferating cell line of a cartilaginous fish. The line was initiated from embryos of the spiny dogfish shark. The cells were maintained in a medium modified for fish species and supplemented with cell type-specific hormones, other proteins and sera, and plated on a collagen substrate. SAE cells have been cultured continuously for three years. These cells can be transfected by plasmids and have been cryopreserved. Expressed Sequence Tags generated from a normalized SAE cDNA library included a number of markers for cartilage and muscle, as well as proteins influencing tissue differentiation and development, suggesting that SAE cells may be of mesenchymal stem cell origin. Examination of SAE EST sequences also revealed a cartilaginous fish-specific repetitive sequence that may be evidence of an ancient mobile genetic element that most likely was introduced into the cartilaginous fish lineage after divergence from the lineage leading to teleosts.

Evidence for possible interactions between PLP and DM20 within the myelin sheath

PLP and its smaller DM20 isoform constitute the major proteins of CNS myelin. Previous studies indicated a role for the proteins in maintaining the intraperiod line of the myelin sheath and the integrity of axons and suggested that both isoforms were necessary to provide these functions. The present study shows that each isoform is capable individually of inserting into compact myelin. Employing chromatographic extraction procedures designed to maintain the natural conformation of the proteins we found that most PLP and DM20 remained associated. Using an antibody specific to the PLP isoform, we were able to co-immunoprecipitate DM20 from the major fraction of the extracted equine myelin and from mouse native whole myelin. We suggest that PLP and DM20 may form a hetero-oligomeric complex within the myelin sheath, probably in association with specific lipids and that this arrangement is essential for the normal structure of myelin and axons.

Evidence that some oligodendrocyte progenitors in the developing optic pathway express the plp gene

DM-20, a product of the proteolipid protein (plp) gene, has been demonstrated in the spinal cord of the mouse embryo as early as embryonic day 12 (E12) in certain cells, some of which are identifiable as oligodendrocyte progenitors. The present work uses optic pathways of rat and mouse as well-characterized systems for the study of gliogenesis. plp gene expression was monitored with a combination of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridization, and immunostaining with antibodies to different PLP peptide sequences, combined with O-2A lineage markers. In tissue sections, hybridizing cells were detected initially in the proximal optic tracts between E18 and birth and thereafter progressively in the chiasm and optic nerves. Small unbranched cells expressing DM-20 but not myelin basic protein (MBP) and probably representing progenitors were detectable by immunostaining in similar locations. With increasing postnatal ages, cells representing maturing oligodendrocytes which co-label for PLP and MBP are present in the optic pathways. In vitro analysis of freshly dissociated cells from premyelinated optic nerve demonstrated that the plp gene is expressed in some O-2A progenitor cells as well as mature oligodendrocytes. We also present evidence that increase in expression of the plp gene along the O-2A lineage differentiation is not progressive but that downregulation at the proligodendroblast (O4+/O1-) stage probably occurs. We suggest that progenitors express the dm-20 isoform while oligodendrocytes express predominantly the plp isoform. Not all progenitors express the plp gene at the times studied, indicating that the presence of DM-20 is either transitory in individual cells or that only a sub-population is involved. The function of DM-20 at this early stage of the oligodendrocyte lineage has yet to be determined.

Neural cells from dogfish embryos express the same subtype-specific antigens as mammalian neural cells in vivo and in vitro

Neural cells are classically identified in vivo and in vitro by a combination of morphological and immunocytochemical criteria. Here, we demonstrate that antibodies used to identify mammalian oligodendrocytes, neurons, and astrocytes recognize these cell types in the developing spiny dogfish central nervous system and in cultures prepared from this tissue. Oligodendrocyte-lineage-specific antibodies O1, O4, and R-mAb labeled cells in the 9 cm dogfish brain stem's medial longitudinal fascicle (MLF) and in areas lateral to it. Process-bearing cells, cultured from the dogfish brain stem, were also labeled with these antibodies. An anti-lamprey neurofilament antibody (LCM), which recognized 60 and 150 kDa proteins in dogfish brain stem homogenates, labeled axons and neurons in the brain stem and axons in the cerebellum of the dogfish embryo. It also labeled cell bodies and/or processes of some cultured cerebellar cells. An anti-bovine glial fibrillary acidic protein antibody, which recognized 42-44 kDa protein(s) in dogfish brain stem homogenates, labeled astrocyte-like processes in the brain stem and cerebellum of the dogfish embryo and numerous large and small flat cells in the cerebellar cultures. These results demonstrate that dogfish oligodendrocytes, neurons, and astrocytes express antigens that are conserved in mammalian neural cells. The ability to culture and identify neural cell types from cartilaginous fish sets the stage for studies to determine if proliferation, migration, and differentiation of these cell types are regulated in a similar fashion to mammalian cells.