Transported proteins in the regenerating optic nerve: regulation by interactions with the optic tectum.

The transport of specific proteins in regenerating optic fibers of goldfish depends on the presence or absence of the optic tectum. When optic fibers were allowed to contact the tectum, amounts of rapidly transported proteins having molecular weights between 120,000 and 160,000 increased, and a species of molecular weight 26,000 reverted to normal levels. When nerves were prevented from contacting the tectum, the amount of the 26,000-molecular weight protein remained high for months. Amounts of other transported proteins, in particular a group of acidic components of molecular weight 44,000 to 49,000 that increase greatly at early stages of regeneration, proved to be independent of the tectum.