NEURON-SCHWANN CELL SIGNALS ARE CONSERVED ACROSS SPECIES - PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EMBRYONIC CHICKEN SCHWANN-CELLS

A monoclonal antibody, 1E8, which recognizes the peripheral myelin pro tein, P0, specific for chicken Schwann cells and their precursors (Bha ttacharyya et al., Neuron 7:831-844, 1991), was used to immunoselect S chwann cells from embryonic day 14 (E14) chicken sciatic nerve. When c ultured, these immunoselected cells displayed properties characteristi c of perinatal rodent Schwann cells, including S100-immunoreactivity a nd O4 antigen-immunoreactivity. In addition, the purified chicken Schw ann cells divided slowly when cultured alone, but when co-cultured wit h chicken or rat sensory neurons, they bound to axons and proliferated . Proliferation was also stimulated by the addition of bovine brain me mbrane extracts or chicken brain membranes. The 1E8 monoclonal antibod y was also used to test the effect of axonal contact on P0 expression. Chicken Schwann cells purified using the 1E8 monoclonal antibody grad ually lost P0 when cultured alone. These cells remained 1E8-negative e ven after prolonged co-culture with embryonic rat dorsal root ganglion neurons or chicken sensory ganglia. These results demonstrate that ch icken Schwann cells behave like rodent Schwann cells in their expressi on of specific antigens, interactions with axons, and regulation of P0 expression. In addition, chicken Schwann cells respond to neuronal si gnals from the rat and cow, illustrating the cross-species conservatio n of these signals.