Since it was first described 25 years ago, phosphorylation has come to
be recognized as a widespread and dynamic post-translational modifica
tion of myelin proteins. In this review, the phosphorylation character
istics of myelin basic protein, protein zero (P-0), myelin-associated
glycoprotein and 2'3' cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase are summa
rized. Emphasis is placed on recent advances in our knowledge concerni
ng the protein kinases involved and the sites of phosphorylation in th
e amino acid sequences, where known. The possible roles of myelin prot
ein phosphorylation in modulating myelin structure, the process of mye
lin assembly and mediation of signal transduction events are discussed
.