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Abstract:
We report on the identification of proteins Mr 32 kDa, 34 kDa, 68 kDa in rat brain or sciatic nerve which cross-react (by immunoblotting) with antibodies to purified Ca2+/phospholipid binding protein calelectrin from Torpedo marmorata. Immunocytochemical staining revealed that anti-calelectrin antibodies labeled cell bodies and processes of cortical neurons and astrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS). In sciatic nerve, calelectrin-like immunoreactivity was expressed in the cytoplasm of Schwann cells of adult as well as newborn rat. Additional staining occurred at periaxonal sites in mature nerve. The localization of calelectrin-related proteins in distinct cell types of the mammalian nervous system suggests a cell-specific role of this new group of proteins in Ca2+-mediated membrane processes involved in neural function.