Migration of proteins along the axons of the sciatic nerve.

Soon after single or repetitive injections of leucine-H(3) in rats, an intense radioautographic reaction was seen over the nerve cell bodies, while the axons of the myelinated fibers of the sciatic nerve were insignificantly labeled. Later, however, these axons showed strong radioactivity, which at 4 days was located in a proximal and at 16 days in a distal region of the nerve. It was concluded that the protein synthesized in the nerve cell bodies of the sciatic nerve had migrated along its axons.