EARLY EXPRESSION OF PROTEOLIPID PROTEIN IN HUMAN FETAL AND INFANTILE CEREBRI

Proteolipid protein (PLP) is the major myelin protein of the central n ervous system and is widely believed to play an important structural r ole in maintaining the myelin compaction, We have studied the early de velopmental changes of PLP with immunohistochemical methods, Our data demonstrate for the first time a comparable scheme for the development of PLP during myelination in human fetal and infant cerebrum, Express ion of PLP was first detected in the pallidothalamic fibers and globus pallidus at 20 weeks; it then extended to the striatum at 28 weeks, p ericentral gyri and optic radiation at 35 weeks, and acoustic radiatio n at 40 weeks, Compared to the expression of myelin basic protein (MBP ), another major myelin protein in the central nervous system, the dev elopmental changes of PLP is in the same order as MBP, but the PLP imm unoreactivity revealed greater and earlier appearance in the cerebrum than that of MBP in the fetal period, These results imply that PLP is a sensitive and useful marker for early myelination and its disorders. (C) 1997 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.