Myelin is a dynamic, functionally active membrane necessary for rapid action potential conduction, axon survival, and cytoarchitecture. The number of debilitating neurological disorders that occur when myelin is disrupted emphasizes its importance. Using highresolution 2D gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and immunoblotting, we have developed an extensive proteomic map of proteins present in myelin, identifying 98 proteins corresponding to at least 130 of the Ϸ200 spots on the map. This proteomic map has been applied to analyses of the localization and function of selected proteins, providing a powerful tool to investigate the diverse functions of myelin.M yelin is a dynamic, functionally active membrane (1), the loss or damage of which results in serious neurological disorders including leukodystrophies, central and peripheral neuropathies, and inflammatory demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (2-4). Rapid and efficient action potential conduction in the nervous system depends on myelin, which traditionally has been viewed as a passive contributor to conduction by increasing internodal membrane resistance and decreasing membrane capacitance (5). However, recent work has revealed additional active roles for myelin in nervous system development and function. For example, myelin regulates axon diameter and the formation of axon microtubular networks, and it is a key player in ion channel clustering at nodes of Ranvier (6-11). In return, the axon regulates myelin gene expression (12) and oligodendrocyte survival (13). The functional coupling of myelin and axons is further illustrated by the transfer of phospholipids (14) and N-acetylaspartate (15) from the axon to the myelin sheath.A major impediment to understanding the active biological functions of myelin is the relative lack of myelin proteins that have been described and characterized. Thus, we have undertaken an extensive proteomic analysis of central nervous system myelin, developed a 2D PAGE map of myelin proteins, identified 98 of these proteins, and illustrated the power and utility of this approach through specific applications of comparative proteomics. For example, a comparison of CNS and peripheral nervous system (PNS) myelin proteins has revealed a previously undescribed component of Schwann cell microvilli, a proteomic matching of myelin from normal and genetically modified mice lacking key myelin lipids has demonstrated a dramatic reduction of two newly recognized myelin protein kinases, and an application of the map to a neuroimmunological analysis of demyelinating disease has identified a signaling mechanism (16).