Compartmental distribution of sulfated glycosaminoglycans in lateral and medial midbrain astroglial cultures.
Sulfated glycosaminoglycans (S-GAGs) were isolated from the pericellular (P), intracellular (I), and extracellular (E) compartments of astrocytes cultures from lateral (L) and medial (M) sectors of embryonic mouse midbrain; these sectors differ in their ability to support neurite growth (L, permissive, M, non-permissive for growth) and laminin deposition patterns (L, fibrillar; M, punctate pattern). The total amount of S-GAGs in M cultures was twice that in L cultures and was particularly high in the P compartment of M glia. Both glial cultures showed heparan sulfate (HS) in the three cellular compartments but chondroitin sulfate (CS) GAGs were vestigial in I and P compartments of L glia. Our results suggest that M and L astrocytes are heterogeneous concerning the ability to synthesize GAGs and distribute them among the different cellular compartments. Together with other data (Garcia-Abreu et al: J Neurosci Res 40:471, 1995; Garcia-Abreu et al: Neuroreport 6:761, 1995), the present results suggest that this heterogeneous features might be at least partially responsible for the differential effects of L and M glial cultures on the growth of midbrain neurons and may also be involved in complex ways in the guidance of axons at the brain midline.
Garcia-Abreu
J
J
Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Silva
L C
LC
Tovar
F F
FF
Onofr-
G R
GR
Cavalcante
L A
LA
Moura Neto
V
V
D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice / Q000196:embryology; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D006025:Glycosaminoglycans