BREVICAN, A GLIAL CELL PROTEOGLYCAN

摘要

The present invention provides substantially purified mammalian brevican, which is a chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan produced by glial cells. The invention provides, for example, the full-length 145 kDa form brevican as well as an 80 kDa active fragment of bovine brevican and of rat brevican. The invention also provides antibodies that are specific for a mammalian brevican and a cell line that produces a monoclonal antibrevican antibody. The invention further provides nucleic acid molecules encoding a mammalian brevican, vectors containing the nucleic acid molecules, host cells containing the vectors. The invention also provides nucleotide sequences that hybridize to a nucleic acid molecule encoding brevican. The invention also provides methods for detecting the presence of a glial cell in a cell sample suspected of containing a glial cell. The invention further provides methods for detecting a glial cell in a subject and methods for directing axonal growth or inhibiting axonal growth in a subject.