Spatial segregation of mRNA encoding myelin-specific proteins.

The cellular and subcellular distributions of mRNAs encoding three myelin-specific proteins--myelin basic protein (MBP), proteolipid protein (PLP), and Po protein--were studied in tissue sections of developing rat nervous systems by in situ hybridization. The developmental appearance of these mRNAs closely paralleled the appearance of the proteins they encode as determined by immunocytochemistry. mRNA encoding the extrinsic membrane protein, MBP, was concentrated around oligodendrocyte and Schwann cell nuclei during initial stages of myelination; as myelination proceeded, MBP mRNA became distributed diffusely over myelinated fibers. In contrast, mRNAs encoding the intrinsic membrane proteins, PLP and Po, remained concentrated around oligodendrocyte (PLP) and Schwann cell (Po) nuclei at all stages of myelination. These results establish that myelinating cells spatially segregate certain myelin-specific mRNAs. The presence of MBP mRNA within the cytoplasmic domains of myelin internodes indicates that protein sorting during myelination involves transportation of mRNA to specific subcellular sites.