Abstract
Nogo-A, a neurite outgrowth inhibitor, is expressed exclusively on oligodendrocytes and neurons in the CNS. The central domain of Amino-Nogo spanning amino acids 567-748 in the human Nogo-A designated NIG, mediates persistent inhibition of axonal outgrowth and induces growth cone collapse by signaling through an as yet unidentified NIG receptor. We identified 82 NIG-interacting proteins by screening a high-density human protein microarray composed of 5000 proteins with a recombinant NIG protein as a probe. Following an intensive database search, we selected 12 neuron/oligodendrocyte-associated NIG interactors. Among them, we verified the molecular interaction of NIG with 2', 3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP), a cell type-specific marker of oligodendrocytes, by immunoprecipitation and cell imaging analysis. Although CNP located chiefly in the cytoplasm of oligodendrocytes might not serve as a cell-surface NIG receptor, it could act as a conformational stabilizer for the intrinsically unstructured large segment of Amino-Nogo.