Intermediate filament proteins define different glial subpopulations.
In certain species, specialized glial cells delineate cell domains in the central nervous system and assist in the elongation of axons by providing mechanical and chemical barriers. We showed previously, that the glial intermediate filament proteins vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein are extensively coexpressed in radial glia in the developing hindbrain, and that subsequently, the two proteins define distinct rhombomere domains: vimentin is localized in radial glia at the rhombomere boundaries and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression is restricted to the rhombomere centers (Yoshida and Colman [2000] J. Comp. Neurol. 424:47-57). The present study reveals that vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein continue to display distinct expression domains throughout the developing Xenopus central nervous system. Although the precise function of the two intermediate filaments in glial cells has yet to be revealed, the observations presented here suggests that glial intermediate filament proteins demarcate different populations of glial cells during nervous system development and that the existence of different glial populations may define glial boundaries.
Yoshida
M
M
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029, USA. yoshida@msvax.mssm.edu
D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D007814:Larva / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism
D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D014746:Vimentin