Abstract
Developing cultures of dissociated cerebral hemispheres ob-tained from 18-day-old embryonic rats synthesized, or activated, a myelin-related enzyme, 2', 3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphohydrolase (CNPase). This increase in activity coincided with the onset of myelination. The presence of CNPase in oligodendrocytes and myelin was demonstrated using immuno-cytochemical staining techniques. Myelinated axons and myelin sheaths were clearly made visible by electron microscopy of 28-day-old cultures.
