Characterization of the Transmembrane Molecular Architecture of the Dystroglycan Complex in Schwann Cells

Abstract We have demonstrated previously 1) that the dystroglycan complex, but not the sarcoglycan complex, is expressed in peripheral nerve, and 2) that α-dystroglycan is an extracellular laminin-2-binding protein anchored to β-dystroglycan in the Schwann cell membrane. In the present study, we investigated the transmembrane molecular architecture of the dystroglycan complex in Schwann cells. The cytoplasmic domain of β-dystroglycan was co-localized with Dp116, the Schwann cell-specific isoform of dystrophin, in the abaxonal Schwann cell cytoplasm adjacent to the outer membrane. β-dystroglycan bound to Dp116 mainly via the 15 C-terminal amino acids of its cytoplasmic domain, but these amino acids were not solely responsible for the interaction of these two proteins. Interestingly, the β-dystroglycan-precipitating antibody precipitated only a small fraction of α-dystroglycan and did not precipitate laminin and Dp116 from the peripheral nerve extracts. Our results indicate 1) that Dp116 is a component of the submembranous cytoskeletal system that anchors the dystroglycan complex in Schwann cells, and 2) that the dystroglycan complex in Schwann cells is fragile compared with that in striated muscle cells. We propose that this fragility may be attributable to the absence of the sarcoglycan complex in Schwann cells.