GD3 ganglioside is a glycolipid characteristic of immature neuroectodermal cells.
Biochemical studies have indicated that the disialoganglioside, GD3, is a major glycolipid component of the immature vertebrate CNS, but a minor element within the mature CNS. We have investigated its cellular localization in rat CNS by immunofluorescence using a mouse monoclonal antibody that recognizes GD3. In tissue sections of postnatal CNS, the antibody bound to cells in several areas known to contain immature neuroectodermal populations: the subventricular zone beneath the lateral ventricle, the external germinative layer of the cerebellar cortex, and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. GD3-containing cells were also found in developing white matter of the forebrain and cerebellar folia. Using a double-label immunofluorescence method, we found that the GD3-positive white matter cells did not express the astrocytic marker, glial fibrillary acidic protein. In adult rat CNS, we could not detect antibody binding to neurons or glia. Scattered GD3-positive cells were apparent in the adult subventricular zone. Our results indicate that GD3 ganglioside is a membrane component characteristically expressed in the rat CNS by neuroectodermal stem cells, both neuronal and glial precursors.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000254:growth & development; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000196:embryology*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D005732:Gangliosides; C026226:ganglioside, GD3