Logo image
Microtubule Organization and Stability in the Oligodendrocyte
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Microtubule Organization and Stability in the Oligodendrocyte

Katharine F Lunn, Peter W Baas and Ian D Duncan
The Journal of neuroscience, v 17(13), pp 4921-4932
01 Jul 1997
PMID: 9185530
url
https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-13-04921.1997View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

microtubule microtubule polarity microtubule stability cytoskeleton oligodendrocyte myelination nocodazole
The oligodendrocyte is the glial cell responsible for the formation and maintenance of CNS myelin. Because the development of neuronal morphology is known to depend on the presence of highly organized microtubule arrays, it may be hypothesized that the properties of microtubules influence the form and function of oligodendrocytes. The goals of the present study were to define the physical attributes of microtubules in oligodendrocytes maintained in vitro . The results of electron and confocal microscopy indicate that microtubules are present throughout the cell bodies and large and small processes of oligodendrocytes and are rarely associated with discrete microtubule-organizing centers. A modified “hooking” protocol demonstrated that the polarity orientation of microtubules is uniformly plus-end distal in small oligodendrocyte processes, compared with a nonuniform, predominantly plus-end distal orientation in large processes. Oligodendrocytes were exposed to the microtubule-depolymerizing drug nocodazole to examine microtubule stability in these cells. The results suggest that oligodendrocyte microtubules can be resolved into at least three distinct microtubule populations that differ in their kinetics of depolymerization in the presence of nocodazole. These findings suggest that the properties of the oligodendrocyte microtubule array reflect the functions of the different regions of this highly specialized cell.

Metrics

8 Record Views
87 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Web of Science research areas
Neurosciences
Logo image