What Have We Learned About the Jimpy Phenotype Expression by Intracerebral Transplantations?

• Published in: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1990-01, Vol.605 (1), p.332-345
• Main Authors: LACHAPELLE, F., LAPIE, P., GANSMULLER, A., VILLARROYA, H., BAUMANN, N., GUMPEL, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Brain - cytology; Brain - growth & development; Brain Tissue Transplantation - physiology; Mice; Mice, Jimpy; Myelin Sheath - ultrastructure; Oligodendroglia - cytology; Oligodendroglia - transplantation; Phenotype
• ISSN: 0077-8923; 1749-6632
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb42407.x

Another experimental approach was to evaluate the effect of cells or tissue from different genotypes on the phenotype of jimpy (jp) oligodendracytes (ODCs). These studies have been performed in vitro using cocultures or conditioned medium cultures. Such studies demonstrated results that were sometimes contradictory depending on the genetic background of the mutation and the conditions. The jp phenotype is maintained when jp explants are cocultured with normal explants. By contrast, the partial reparation of jp ODCs phenotype when these cells are cultured in medium conditioned by normal astrocytes shows partial sensitivity of jp ODCs to environmental factors. Lastly, jp tissue can be colonized ans jp axons myelinated by normal ODCs. The partial complementation obtained with double mutants shi/jp and the study of heterozygote phenotypes did not clarify the role of the cells' relationships in the development of the jp phenotype.