RAT OLIGODENDROCYTE 0-2A PRECURSOR CELLS AND THE CG-4 OLIGODENDROCYTEPRECURSOR CELL-LINE EXPRESS CADHERINS, BETA-CATENIN AND THE NEURAL CELL-ADHESION MOLECULE, NCAM

Oligodendrocyte precursor cell migration throughout the developing cen tral nervous system (CNS) and cessation of migration are poorly unders tood but are likely to involve cell adhesion molecules. The expression and distribution of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), cadherins a nd beta-catenin were investigated in the CG-4 cell line and primary ra t oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (O-2A) by immunofluorescence and We stern blotting. NCAM was expressed by both cell types and was found al l over the surface of both CG-4 cells and O-2A progenitor glia. The pr esence of a cadherin was detected in both CG-4 cells and O-2A progenit or glia, and this molecule was distributed all over the cell body and cell processes at different stages of differentiation. beta-Catenin sh owed a very similar distribution to that of the cadherin, We conclude that CG-4 cells are a valid model system to study cell adhesion molecu le expression and function in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells. (C) 19 98 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.