title: Expression of neurofilament immunoreactivity in developing rat cerebellum in vitro and in vivo.
abstract: The developmental expression of neurofilaments immunoreactivity was examined in frozen sections and in primary cultures of rat cerebellum by immunocytochemistry with a series of monoclonal antibodies and with a polyclonal antibody. In tissue sections immunocytochemical staining with all the antibodies used was observed in basket cells where adult-like appearance could be detected by 14 days of age and adult-level intensity was achieved by about 25 days. Granule cells remained unstained. Intense staining appeared in cerebellar white matter as early as 7 days after birth. In contrast, neurofilaments immunoreactivity was detected in cultured granule cells from 7-day-old cerebellum. Only polyclonal antibodies reacting with the highly conserved middle alpha-helical domain of the neurofilament subunits were reactive in culture. Staining could be detected in the nerve cell bodies from the first day after plating; thereafter staining intensity increased and was also distributed in neurite extensions. We conclude that unlike their counterparts in vivo cultured embryonic granule cells can express certain neurofilaments immunoreactivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Gilad
authors.forename: V H
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Gilad
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dahl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013997:Time Factors