Heterogeneity of microtubule-associated protein 2 during rat brain development.

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Abstract
The electrophoretic pattern of the large microtubule-associated protein, MAP2, changes during rat brain development. Immunoblots of NaDodSO4 [sodium dodecyl sulfate] extracts obtained from the cerebral cortex, cerebellum and thalamus at 10-15 days after birth reveal only a single electrophoretic species when probed with any of 3 MAP2 monoclonal antibodies. Adult MAP2 contains 2 immunoreactive species, MAP2a and MAP2b. The single band of MAP2 from immature brain electrophoretically comigrates with adult MAP2b. Between postnatal days 17 and 18, immature MAP2 simultaneously resolves into 2 species in both the cerebellum and cerebral cortex. Immunoblots of NaDodSO4 extracts from spinal cord demonstrate the adult complement of MAP2 by day 10, indicating that MAP2 does not change coordinately throughout the entire CNS. In vitro cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of immature MAP2 causes a band split reminiscent of that seen during brain development in vivo. The possibility that the developmentally regulated changes observed in MAP2 during brain maturation are due to timed phosphorylation events is discussed.