PMID: 9184982Jun 23, 1997Paper

Distribution and substrate properties of agrin, a heparan sulfate proteoglycan of developing axonal pathways

The Journal of Comparative Neurology
Willi HalfterG J Cole

Abstract

The distribution and substrate properties of agrin, an extracellular matrix heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG), was investigated in the developing chick nervous system by immunocytochemistry, Western blotting, and in neurite outgrowth assays. By comparing the distribution of agrin with that of laminin-1, merosin (laminin-2), neurofilament, and neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), it was found that throughout development, agrin is a constituent of all basal laminae. From embryonic day (E) 4 onwards, agrin is also abundant in axonal pathways of the central nervous system, such as the optic nerve, the tectobulbar pathway, the white matter of the spinal cord, and the marginal and the molecular layers of the forebrain and the cerebellum. The abundance of agrin in brain decreases from E13 onwards. In the peripheral nervous system, agrin is present throughout development as a constituent of the Schwann cell basal laminae. Western blots confirmed the immunocytochemical data, showing maximum expression of agrin occurs during the early to medium stages of brain development. Western blots also showed that in mouse and human brain, agrin exists as an HSPG. Purified agrin did not support neurite outgrowth, rather it inhibited retinal neur...Continue Reading

Citations

May 26, 1999·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·J E DonahueE G Stopa
Feb 28, 2002·Molecular and Cellular Biology·A Radu AricescuAndrew W Stoker
Jul 17, 2008·Journal of Neurotrauma·M Cristina FaloLinda L Phillips
Jan 14, 2009·The Journal of Biological Chemistry·Rene RamsegerStephan Kröger
May 21, 1999·The European Journal of Neuroscience·C H ChauK F So
Oct 6, 1998·Annual Review of Biochemistry·R V Iozzo
Jan 17, 2002·Journal of Neurobiology·John L BixbyMarkus A Rüegg
Feb 5, 2005·Molecular and Cellular Neurosciences·Anastasia Dimitropoulou, John L Bixby

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