| Abstract: | Abstract— The optic system of Scardinius erythrophthalmus has been used to study the axonal translocation of radioactivity from [3H]glucose. Intraocularly injected precursors were transported intra-axonally along the optic nerve towards the contralateral optic tectum. In comparison with the well known properties of axonal protein transport there were remarkable differences in the proximo-distal translocation of [3H]glucose. These were: (1) a delay in the labelling of the structures investigated, after tracer application; (2) only a rapid phase of transport; and (3) no accumulation of radioactivity in the region of nerve terminals in the optic tectum connected with the injected eye. The transported material was almost exclusively in the form of TCA-soluble compounds and was mainly glucose itself or its low molecular derivatives, but not glycogen. The rate of transport was decreased by lowered temperatures and was not immediately dependent on retinal protein synthesis. Colchicine blocked the axonal transport of glucose by up to 60–70 per cent. |
