Differential expression of neurofilament subunits in the developing corpus callosum

In the course of development, corticocortical axons seem to first appear in a labile state from which they either mature into a stable state or are eliminated. These state transitions may be related to cytoskeletal modifications. By immunohistochemistry and immunobiochemistry we found that, in the corpus callosum of the cat, the heavy (200 kDa) subunit of neurofilaments (NF) becomes progressively more visible during the first postnatal month. This aspect of cytoskeletal maturation parallels the developmental loss of callosal axons, i.e. probably the stabilization of the axons which are not eliminated. A similar maturation of the heavy subunit was observed in the visual cortical areas 17 and 18. The medium (150 kDa) and to a lesser extent the light (70 kDa) NF subunits are already present a few days after birth.