Characterization of a protein that appears in the nervous system of the mothManduca sextacoincident with neuronal death

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to locate potential neuronal death-related proteins in the moth Manduca sexta. Protein patterns of ganglia of pharate adult moths (taken prior to adult ecdysis) compared with protein patterns of one-day-old adults revealed reproducible changes in protein patterns. An acidic protein of approximately 40000 Da was present in all samples from adult moths undergoing neuronal death and essentially absent from pharate adult samples.