title: Distribution and ontogeny of glial fibrillary acidic protein in the snail Megalobulimus abbreviatus.
abstract: Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is the major component of intermediate glial filaments in the central nervous system of many vertebrates and invertebrates. In vertebrates, this protein is mainly expressed in mature astrocytes and provides structural cell stability. The highly conserved structure and glial specificity of this protein have allowed studies of ontogeny and phylogeny using antibodies. The present study investigated the ontogenetic profile and molecular weight of GFAP in the snail, Megalobulimus abbreviatus, particularly in cerebral ganglia and subesophageal mass, by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. Our results confirm and extend previous studies about glial intermediate filaments in snails, showing: (i) a higher GFAP content in cerebral ganglia than in subesophageal mass; (ii) a developmental increase of GFAP immunocontent in cerebral ganglia, as described in Vertebrates; and (iii) an electrophoretic band for GFAP of approximately 55 kDa.
authors.affiliation: Departamentos de Ciências Morfológicas, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. paula.santos@ipametodista.edu.br
authors.forename: Paula C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.forename: Carmem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gottfried
authors.forename: Günther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gehlen
authors.forename: Carlos-Alberto
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Matilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Achaval
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017952:Ganglia, Invertebrate / Q000737:chemistry*; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008970:Molecular Weight; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012908:Snails / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein