[Dendritic arborization patterns of interneurons labeled with a lectin, Vicia villosa, in rat cerebral cortex: studies by intracellular injection of lucifer yellow using aldehyde-fixed slices].
In order to characterize the dendritic field of a number of interneurons in the cerebral cortex, the labeling of extracellular sugar chains which define a subset of interneurons was combined with the subsequent intracellular filling of dyes in aldehyde-fixed tissue. Neurons whose cell body had been outlined by a lectin, Vicia villosa (VVA), which recognizes terminal N-acetylgalactosamine, were intracellularly injected with a fluorescent tracer, Lucifer yellow (LY), in the rat parietal cortex under direct visualization. After immunohistochemical detection of LY, somal morphology and the dendritic fields of injected neurons were reconstructed from serial sections and characterized in each of the layers II/III, IV, V and VI. Multipolar, flask-shaped and bitufted somata were VVA-positive. Multipolar neurons with round soma and spherical dendritic field were found in layers II/III, IV and V, while those with vertically elongated dendritic fields were found in layer VI. Cell bodies were located roughly in the center of the spherical or cylindrical dendritic fields. Neurons with apparently multipolar but flask- or pear-shaped soma were found frequently in layer IV, and much less frequently in layer II/III and VI. The majority of the dendrites originated from the neck portion of flask and formed a roughly spherical dendritic field with the cell body located more or less eccentrically. Some neurons in layer IV had an oval, somewhat vertically elongated soma and displayed a typical bitufted dendritic arborization pattern with vertically elongated dendritic fields. The overall dendritic field sizes of the cells gradually increased at deeper layers of the cortex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Ojima
H
H
Neural Systems Laboratory, Frontier Research Program, RIKEN, Saitama, Japan.
D000447:Aldehydes; D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology*; D003712:Dendrites; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007267:Injections; D007546:Isoquinolines; D037102:Lectins; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016707:Tissue Fixation
D000447:Aldehydes; D007546:Isoquinolines; D037102:Lectins; C017475:lucifer yellow