Cloning and characterization of MVP17: a developmentally regulated myelin protein in oligodendrocytes.

The remarkable quantities of myelin membrane produced by oligodendrocytes has led us to examine the mechanisms involved in the sorting and transport of proteins and lipids during myelinogenesis. Noting that it has been proposed that proteins destined for the apical surface of polarized epithelial cells co-cluster with glycolipid-rich microdomains during sorting and transport from the trans-Golgi network (Simons and van Meer: Biochemistry 27:6197-6202, 1988; Simons and Wandinger-Ness: Cell 62:207-210, 1990), we hypothesized that the glycolipid-rich oligodendrocytes may adopt this mechanism for myelinogenesis. Protein-lipid complexes from oligodendrocytes and myelin were isolated utilizing detergent insolubility and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. A developmentally regulated protein, MVP17 (myelin vesicular protein of 17 kDa), was identified. Microsequencing of the N-terminal peptide revealed a high homology to human T-cell MAL protein (Alonso and Weissman: Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 84:1997-2001, 1987). The corresponding MVP17 cDNA was isolated from an oligodendrocyte cDNA library. The predicted protein sequence showed 88.9% identity with MAL, and the hydrophobicity profile suggested four transmembrane domains. In vitro translation demonstrated a signal at the deduced Mr of approximately 17 kDa. Northern analyses indicated that MVP17 mRNA expression is restricted to brain and kidney and that this expression is up-regulated in oligodendrocytes and brain during the period of active myelination. These data suggest that MVP17 is involved in myelin biogenesis and/or myelin function.