Changes in axonal transport of phospholipids in the regenerating goldfish optic system.

Changes in axonally transported phospholipids of regenerating goldfish optic nerve were studied by intraocular injection of [2-3H]glycerol 9 days and 16 days after nerve crush at 30 degrees C. The four major glycerophospholipids all showed substantial increases in transported radioactivity above non-regenerating controls at both time points, these being maximal (15- to 35-fold) in the optic nerve-tract at 9 days and about half as great at 16 days. In the contralateral optic tectum transported label increased 6- to 13-fold at 9 days and 10- to 25-fold at 16 days in the various glycerophospholipids. While all glycerophospholipids showed absolute increases in both tissues, PS and PI increased relatively more, especially in the tectum. The regeneration-associated increases in transported label of all glycerophospholipids were larger than those previously demonstrated for gangliosides and glycoproteins in the same system.

Ganglioside changes in the regenerating goldfish optic system: comparison with glycoproteins and phospholipids.

Axonally transported radioactivity in sialoglycoconjugates, labeled by intraocular injection of [3H]N-acetylmannosamine, increased significantly during regeneration of goldfish optic axons at 30 degrees C. Ganglioside radioactivity showed the largest increase--approximately eightfold--in the optic nerve tract at 8 days after optic nerve crush while sialoglycoprotein radioactivity increased fourfold under the same conditions. As regeneration proceeded the magnitude of the increase in the nerve tract diminished for both glycoconjugates. In the optic tectum, however, transported radioactivities remained approximately twofold higher than controls between 15 and 25 days postcrush. The zwitterionic fraction of glycerophospholipids, labeled by intraocular injection of [14C]glycerol, also showed large increases during regeneration, but the acidic glycerophospholipids showed only modest increases. Thus while membrane components in general were elevated during the early stages of regeneration, the most pronounced increases occurred in gangliosides and certain glycerophospholipids. The significance of these changes in the regeneration process remain to be determined.