AXONAL TRANSPORT OF PROTEIN IN THE OPTIC NERVE OF OCTOPUS VULGARIS, LAM.

Abstract— The presence of an axonal flow of proteins has been investigated in the optic nerve and lobe of Octopus vulgaris up to 5 days after the intraocular injection of ³H]leucine. In each of these regions and in the posterior half of the eye the content of radioactivity has been determined in the TCA-soluble fraction and in the saline-soluble and insoluble protein fractions.
After subtraction of the values of the control side, the concentration of radioactive proteins in the optic nerve and lobe of the injected side was found to increase according to a triphasic pattern. An initial phase of fast increase was followed by a period of essentially steady values and, eventually, by a second phase of less rapid but more prolonged increment. In both regions the per cent of radioactive soluble proteins increased after the completion of the first phase.