The synthesis of choline phosphoglycerides in the giant fibre system of the squid

Protein synthesis in axons and terminals: significance for maintenance, plasticity and regulation of phenotype. With a critique of slow transport theory

This article focuses on local protein synthesis as a basis for maintaining axoplasmic mass, and expression of plasticity in axons and terminals. Recent evidence of discrete ribosomal domains, subjacent to the axolemma, which are distributed at intermittent intervals along axons, are described. Studies of locally synthesized proteins, and proteins encoded by RNA transcripts in axons indicate that the latter comprise constituents of the so-called slow transport rate groups. A comprehensive review and analysis of published data on synaptosomes and identified presynaptic terminals warrants the conclusion that a cytoribosomal machinery is present, and that protein synthesis could play a role in long-term changes of modifiable synapses. The concept that all axonal proteins are supplied by slow transport after synthesis in the perikaryon is challenged because the underlying assumptions of the model are discordant with known metabolic principles. The flawed slow transport model is supplanted by a metabolic model that is supported by evidence of local synthesis and turnover of proteins in axons. A comparison of the relative strengths of the two models shows that, unlike the local synthesis model, the slow transport model fails as a credible theoretical construct to account for axons and terminals as we know them. Evidence for a dynamic anatomy of axons is presented. It is proposed that a distributed "sprouting program," which governs local plasticity of axons, is regulated by environmental cues, and ultimately depends on local synthesis. In this respect, nerve regeneration is treated as a special case of the sprouting program. The term merotrophism is proposed to denote a class of phenomena, in which regional phenotype changes are regulated locally without specific involvement of the neuronal nucleus.

Lipid metabolism in various regions of squid giant nerve fiber

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the incorporation of radioactivity from various precursors into lipids of different regions of squid giant nerve fiber systems including axoplasm, axon sheath, giant fiber lobes which contain stellate ganglion cell bodies, and the remaining ganglion including giant synapses. To identify the labeled lipids, stellate ganglia including giant fiber lobes and the remaining tissue were first incubated separately with [14C]glucose, [32P]phosphate, [14C]serine, [14C]acetate and [3H]myristate. The radioactivity from glucose, after conversion to glycerol and fatty acids, was incorporated into most lipids, including triacylglycerol, free fatty acids, cardiolipin, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, sphingomyelin and ceramide 2-aminoethylphosphanate [corrected]. The radioactivity from serine was largely incorporated into phosphatidylserine and, to a lesser extent, into other phospholipids, mainly as the base component. The sphingoid bases of ceramide and sphingomyelin were also significantly labeled. Saturated and monounsaturated and, to a lesser extent, polyunsaturated fatty acids of these lipids were synthesized from acetate, glucose and myristate. Among the major lipids, cholesterol was not labeled by any of the radioactive compounds used. Ganglion residues incorporated the most radioactivity in total lipids from either [14C]glucose or [14C]serine, followed by giant fiber lobes and then sheath. Axoplasm incorporated the least. Among various lipids, phosphatidylethanolamine with shorter saturated fatty acids and phosphatidylglycerol contained the most radioactivity from glucose in all regions. Axoplasm was characterized by a higher proportion of glucose radioactivity in ceramide, sphingomyelin and phosphatidylglycerol. Axoplasm and sheath contained a higher proportion of serine radioactivity than did the other two regions in ceramide. Essentially no radioactivity from [14C]galactose was incorporated in any region.

Lipids of nervous tissue: composition and metabolism

As indicated in the Introduction, the many significant developments in the recent past in our knowledge of the lipids of the nervous system have been collated in this article. That there is a sustained interest in this field is evident from the rather long bibliography which is itself selective. Obviously, it is not possible to summarize a review in which the chemistry, distribution and metabolism of a great variety of lipids have been discussed. However, from the progress of research, some general conclusions may be drawn. The period of discovery of new lipids in the nervous system appears to be over. All the major lipid components have been discovered and a great deal is now known about their structure and metabolism. Analytical data on the lipid composition of the CNS are available for a number of species and such data on the major areas of the brain are also at hand but information on the various subregions is meagre. Such investigations may yet provide clues to the role of lipids in brain function. Compared to CNS, information on PNS is less adequate. Further research on PNS would be worthwhile as it is amenable for experimental manipulation and complex mechanisms such as myelination can be investigated in this tissue. There are reports correlating lipid constituents with the increased complexity in the organization of the nervous system during evolution. This line of investigation may prove useful. The basic aim of research on the lipids of the nervous tissue is to unravel their functional significance. Most of the hydrophobic moieties of the nervous tissue lipids are comprised of very long chain, highly unsaturated and in some cases hydroxylated residues, and recent studies have shown that each lipid class contains characteristic molecular species. Their contribution to the properties of neural membranes such as excitability remains to be elucidated. Similarly, a large proportion of the phospholipid molecules in the myelin membrane are ethanolamine plasmalogens and their importance in this membrane is not known. It is firmly established that phosphatidylinositol and possibly polyphosphoinositides are involved with events at the synapse during impulse propagation, but their precise role in molecular terms is not clear. Gangliosides, with their structural complexity and amphipathic nature, have been implicated in a number of biological events which include cellular recognition and acting as adjuncts at receptor sites. More recently, growth promoting and neuritogenic functions have been ascribed to gangliosides. These interesting properties of gangliosides wIll undoubtedly attract greater attention in the future.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Phospholipid synthesis in the squid giant axon: incorporation of lipid precursors

The squid giant axon and extruded axoplasm from the giant axon were used to study the capacity of axoplasm for phospholipid synthesis. Extruded axoplasm, suspended in chemically defined media, catalyzed the synthesis of phospholipids from all of the precursors tested. 32P-Labeled inorganic phosphate and gamma-labeled ATP were actively incorporated into phosphatidylinositol phosphate, while [2-3H]myo-inositol and L-[3H(G)]serine were actively incorporated into phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylserine, respectively. Though less well utilized. [2-3H]glycerol was incorporated into phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylinositol, and triglyceride, and methyl-3H]choline and [1-3H]ethanolamine were incorporated into phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, respectively. Isolated squid giant axons were incubated in artificial seawater containing the above precursors. The axoplasm was extruded following the incubations. Although most of the product lipids were recovered in the sheath (composed of cortical axoplasm, axolemma, and surrounding satellite cells), significant amounts (4-20%) were present in the extruded axoplasm. With tritiated choline and myo-inositol, the major labeled phospholipids found in both the extruded axoplasm and the sheath were phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol, respectively. With both glycerol and phosphate, phosphatidylethanolamine was a major labeled lipid in both axoplasm and sheath. These findings demonstrate that all classes of phospholipids are formed by endogenous synthetic enzymes in axoplasm. In addition, we feel that the different patterns of incorporation by intact axons and extruded axoplasm indicate that surrounding sheath cells contribute lipids to axoplasm. A comprehensive picture of axonal lipid metabolism should include axoplasmic synthesis and glial-axon transfer as pathways complementing the axonal transport of perikaryally formed lipids.

Changes in rapid transport of phospholipids in the rat sciatic nerve during axonal regeneration

Axonal transport of phospholipids in normal and regenerating sciatic nerve of the rat was studied. At various intervals after axotomy of the right sciatic nerve in the midthigh region and subsequent perineurial sutures of the transected fascicles, a mixture of 60 mu Ci [Me-14C]choline and 15 muCi [2-3H]glycerol in the region of the spinal motor neurons of the L5 and L6 segments was injected bilaterally. The amount of radioactive lipid (and in certain cases its distribution in various lipid classes) along the nerve was determined as a function of time. Three days after fascicular suture and 6 h after spinal cord injection of precursors, there was an accumulation of labeled phospholipids and sphingolipids in the transected sciatic nerve in the region immediately proximal to the site of suture. Nine days after, there was a marked increase in the accumulation of radioactivity in the distal segments of the injured nerve, which increased up to 14 days after cutting and disappeared as regeneration proceeded (21-45 days). In all segments of both normal and regenerating nerve fibers, as well as in L5 and L6 spinal cord segments, only phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin were labeled with [14C]choline. These results suggest that the regeneration process in a distal segment of a peripheral neuron, following cutting and fascicular repairing by surgical sutures, is sustained in the first 3 weeks by changes in the amount of phospholipids rapidly transported along the axon towards the site of nerve fiber outgrowth.

Early stimulation of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis during Wallerian degeneration of rat sciatic nerve

Phospholipid metabolism was studied in rat sciatic nerve during Wallerian degeneration induced by crush injury. Portions of crushed sciatic nerve, incubated with labeled substrates, showed significantly higher phosphatidylcholine synthesis than normal nerve, prior to any measurable alterations of phospholipid composition. Maximum synthesis occurred 3 days after crush injury, at which time the metabolism of other phospholipids was unchanged. After a rapid decrease in biosynthetic activity, a second phase of enhanced phosphatidylcholine synthesis occurred, beginning 6 days after crush injury. Increased incorporation of [33P]phosphate, [2-3H]glycerol, and [Me-14C]choline indicated stimulation of de novo synthesis of phosphatidylcholine 3 days after injury. Neither base exchange reactions nor sequential methylation of ethanolamine phospholipids contributed significantly to phosphatidylcholine synthesis. Assay of certain key enzymes under optimal conditions in subcellular fractions of sciatic nerve revealed higher activities of cholinephosphate cytidyltransferase, choline phosphotransferase, and acyl-CoA:lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase in injured nerve, while choline kinase activity remained unchanged. This indicates that stimulation of phosphatidylcholine synthesis occurs via the cytidine nucleotide pathway, as well as by increased acylation of lysophosphatidylcholine. Although the cause of stimulated phosphatidylcholine synthesis remains unexplained, it is possible that trace amounts of lysophospholipids or other metabolites produced by injury-enhanced phospholipase activity may be responsible.

Contribution of axonal transport to the renewal of myelin phospholipids in peripheral nerves. II. Biochemical study

The classes of radioactive phospholipids appearing in the ciliary ganglion (CG) and especially in the myelin sheath of the intraorbital part of the oculomotor nerve (OMN) were determined after the intracerebral injection of [2-3H]glycerol and [methyl-14C]choline to chickens. Analysis of the radioactive compounds in water-soluble fractions and chloroform-methanol extracts was performed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The water-soluble content of the OMN and CG was much poorer in [2-3H]glycerol and metabolites than in [methyl-14C]choline and derivatives. All classes of glycerophospholipids were found to be axonally transported along the OMN and into the CG, but choline-phosphoglycerides (CPG) were largely predominant. In myelin fractions from the OMN, the specific radioactivity (SRA) of CPG labeled with [2-3H]glycerol reached a maximum earlier (40 h) than the SRA of CPG labeled with [methyl-14C]choline. A 25-fold enhancement of the [14C]SRA of sphingomyelin (SM) was observed between 12 h and 7 days. These results indicate that: (1) axonally transported phospholipids labeled with [2-3H]glycerol consist mainly of CPG; (2) small amounts of CPG are translocated from the axon to myelin; and (3) the progressive enrichment of myelin in [14C]CPG and, to a greater extent, SM draws attention to the importance of the base recycling for local synthesis of myelin phospholipids. Thus the axonal supply of Schwann cells with choline and the transfer of axonal phospholipids to myelin would probably contribute to the metabolic interdependence existing between neuron and glia.

Contribution of axonal transport to the renewal of myelin phospholipids in peripheral nerves. I. Quantitative radioautographic study

Kinetics of phospholipid constituents transferred from the axon to the myelin sheath were studied in the oculomotor nerve (OMN) and the ciliary ganglion (CG) of chicken. Axons of the OMN were loaded with transported phospholipids after an intracerebral injection of [2-3H]glycerol or [3H]labeled choline. Quantitative electron microscope radioautography revealed that labeled lipids were transported in the axons mainly associated with the smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Simultaneously, the labeling of the myelin sheath was found in the Schmidt-Lanterman clefts and the inner myelin layers. The outer Schwann cell cytoplasm and the outer myelin layers contained some label with [methyl-3H]choline, but virtually none with [2-3H]glycerol. With time the radioactive lipids were redistributed throughout and along the whole myelin sheath. Since [2-3H]glycerol incorporated into phospholipids is practically not re-utilized, the occurrence of label in myelin results from a translocation of entire phospholipid molecules and from their preferential insertion into Schmidt-Lanterman clefts. In this way, the axon-myelin transfer of phospholipid contributes rapidly to the renewal of a limited pool of phospholipids in the inner myelin layers. When [methyl-3H]choline was used as precursor of phospholipids, the rapid appearance of the label in the inner myelin layers was interpreted also as an axon-myelin transfer of labeled phospholipids. However, the additional labeling of the outer Schwann cell cytoplasm adjacent to Schmidt-Lanterman clefts and of the outer myelin layers reflects a local re-incorporation of the base released from the axon. By these two processes, the axon contributes to purvey the inner myelin layers with new phospholipids and the Schwann cells with new choline molecules.