[Effect of visual deprivation on the composition of structural proteins of the visual system of rabbit brain]

Composition of membrane proteins of the visual system structures of normal and dark-reared rabbits (for 2 1/2 months from birth) was studied by using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Solubilization of membrane proteins was carried out using a 1% solution of Triton X-100 and a 0.1% solution of sodium dodecylsulfate, in succession. One fraction representing the fraction of high-molecular proteins was absent in membrane proteins of the visual analyser in the dark-reared animals; there was also a change in the percentage content of proteins in different fractions in comparison with the normal. The data obtained led to the conclusion that visual deprivation caused marked quantitative and qualitative reconstruction in the composition of membrane proteins of the brain with some specific characteristics for the formation of the visual analyser.