Abstract
The effect of tricyano-amino-propene, a dimer of malononitrile, on the base composition of the RNA in isolated Deiters' nerve cells and their oligodendroglial cells has been studied using a microelectrophoretic method. Tri-a-p in a dose of 20 mg/kg has the effect of increasing the RNA and protein content per nerve cell by 25 per cent and decreasing the glia RNA by 45 per cent. The RNA base composition of the nerve cells from the control animals differs from that of their glial cells. The guanine of the nerve cell is significantly higher than that of the glia, but the content of cytosine is higher in the glia than in the RNA of nerve cell. The cytosine of nerve cells decreased significantly after tri-a-p administration. In the glial cells the cytosine showed a 20 per cent increase, and the guanine a 25 per cent decrease. Tri-a-p sharpened the difference in RNA composition already existing between the control nerve cells and their glial cells by almost 300 per cent for the guanine and by 400 per cent for the cytosine. The chemical and functional relationship between the nerve cell and its oligodendroglial cells is discussed.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (528.3 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- BRODAL A., POMPEIANO O. The origin of ascending fibres of the medial longitudinal fasciculus from the vestibular nuclei; an experimental study in the cat. Acta Morphol Neerl Scand. 1958;1(4):306–328. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- BRODAL A., POMPEIANO O. The vestibular nuclei in cat. J Anat. 1957 Oct;91(4):438–454. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- DAVIDSON J. N., SMELLIE R. M. S. Phosphorus compounds in the cell. II. The separation by ionophoresis on paper of the constituent nucleotides of ribonucleic acid. Biochem J. 1952 Dec;52(4):594–599. doi: 10.1042/bj0520594. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- EDSTROM J. E. Composition of ribonucleic acid from various parts of spider oocytes. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1960 Sep;8:47–51. doi: 10.1083/jcb.8.1.47. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- EDSTROM J. E. Extraction, hydrolysis, and electrophoretic analysis of ribonucleic acid from microscopic tissue units (microphoresis). J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1960 Sep;8:39–43. doi: 10.1083/jcb.8.1.39. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- GEIGER A., YAMASAKI S., LYONS R. Changes in nitrogenous components of brain produced by stimulation of short duration. Am J Physiol. 1956 Jan;184(1):239–243. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1955.184.1.239. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- MENDELSON J., MENDELSON J. H., FAX B. J., GRENELL R. G. Stability and absorption spectrum of malononitrile. Science. 1954 Aug 13;120(3111):266–269. doi: 10.1126/science.120.3111.266. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]