Neutron Diffraction from Myelin: Novel Differences Between PNS and CNS Membrane Multilayers
Rapid nerve conduction in vertebrates depends on myelin’s ensheathment of axons. Conduction abnormalities and severe debilitation is due to de-, dys-, and a- myelination. Electron microscopy can provide an essential description of myelin morphology, but compared to diffraction lacks the requisite resolution, sampling, and non-invasiveness to delineate molecular organization and dynamic interactions. About 40 years ago, we showed the complementarity of neutron diffraction (ND) to x-ray diffraction (XRD) for myelin structural studies. At the ILL, we have now demonstrated the vast improvement in temporal and spatial resolution of current instrumentation, recorded the first ND patterns from CNS myelin, tested a flow cell for studying in real-time D-H exchange in myelinated nerves, detailed the difference in diffusion barriers in PNS versus CNS myelinated nerves, and found that specialized junctions unique to CNS myelin modulate diffusion in myelin. We now propose to explore the application of alternative sources of contrast within myelin by in vivo incorporation of deuterium into membrane components, and by incubation or mediated membrane insertion of deuterium-labelled compounds.
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KIRSCHNER Daniel; CRISTIGLIO Viviana; DEME Bruno; DENNINGER Andrew and LEDUC Geraldine. (2013). Neutron Diffraction from Myelin: Novel Differences Between PNS and CNS Membrane Multilayers. Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) doi:10.5291/ILL-DATA.8-02-663
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