The developmental regulation of the L2/HNK-1 and L3 carbohydrate epitopes in mouse brain. Evidence for separate control of lipid- and protein-bound epitopes

The carbohydrate epitopes L2/HNK-1 and L3 have previously been identified on various neural cell adhesion molecules and have been suggested to play a role in the mediation of cell-cell adhesion. In this study, the developmental expression of the two epitopes in soluble, membrane-bound and chloroform/methanol-extracted fractions of the constituent mouse brain regions was examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The protein-bound epitopes were shown to be uniformly developmentally regulated, with levels peaking at postnatal day 20 (P20). The epitopes in a crude chloroform/methanol fraction, however, demonstrated a different pattern, with L2 peaking earlier at postnatal day zero (P0). These results suggest a possible interaction between the control of the two pools of the epitope.