The original premise of the Editors in initiating this series was that
there existed a readership ofneurochemists with considerable biochemical
back- ground who would make use of a series dedicated to both new
develop- ments and specialized reviews in neurochemistry. Having
selected our authors, we have offered them virtually complete freedom to
reflect and speculate in a field in which they have achieved prominence.
The response to the first two volumes has been rewarding. The present
one continues in this tradition. While we have not attempted to publish
specialized volumes, the present volume contains two somewhat related
chapters (Chapters 4 and 5, on the role of amino acid
neurotransmitters). The first three chapters examine three diverse
approaches, each of current interest, in neurochemi- cal approaches to
the molecular bases of neuronal and glial structure. B. W. Agranoff M.
H. Aprison vii CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 2',3'-CYCUC NUCLEOTIDE
3'-PHOSPHODIESTERASE NEIL RAYMOND SIMS AND PATRICK ROBERT CARNEGIE 1.
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. Assay of CNPase . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. 1. Need for
Activation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 3 2. 2. Comparison of Assays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 3 3. Association of CNPase with Myelin . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3. 1. Historical. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3. 2.
Subcellular Fractionation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 8 3. 3. Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3. 4. Mutant Mice . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3. 5. Use as a
Myelin Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3. 6. Myelin-Related Fractions and Peripheral Nerve Myelin. 11 4. CNPase
in Nonmyelin Fractions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 13 5. Activation and Isolation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 5. 1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 5. 2.
Activation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 14 5. 3. Solubilization and Fractionation. . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 6. Properties. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6. 1. Substrate Specificity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
