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Science 25 March 1977:
Vol. 195. no. 4284, pp. 1360 - 1362
DOI: 10.1126/science.841336

Articles

Science, Vol 195, Issue 4284, 1360-1362
Copyright © 1977 by American Association for the Advancement of Science


articles

Identification of retinoyl complexes as the autofluorescent component of the neuronal storage material in Batten disease

LS Wolfe, NM Kin, RR Baker, S Carpenter, and F Andermann

Cytosomes filled with intensely fluorescent material in the form of curvilinear bodies were isolated by density gradient centrifugation followed by pronase digestion from the cerebral cortex of a child who had died at age 7 from the late infantile form of Batten disease. Forty-three percent of the dry weight of the storage material was extracted by a mixture of chloroform and methanol, leaving a waterinsoluble amorphous fluorescent residue. Infrared spectroscopy, proton magnetic resonance spectrscopy, and mass spectrometry of this residue strongly suggested the presence of retinoyl polyenes linked to a small peptide. Base hydrolysis and methanolysis yielded retinoic acid and methyl retinoate, respectively. Ozonolysis yielded a product derived from the substituted cyclohexenyl ring of vitamin A. The results indicate that the fluorescent component of the neuronal storage material is a retinoyl complex and is not derived from peroxidized polyunsatured fatty acids as previously thought.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Genetic Influences in the Epilepsies: Review of the Literature With Practical Implications.
M. T. Jennings and T. D. Bird (1981)
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 135, 450-457
   Abstract »    PDF »
Retinoyl complexes in Batten disease.
E. Nelson and B. Halley (1977)
Science 198, 527-528
   PDF »



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