Identification of major cell classes in the developing mammalian nervous system

Abstract

A major difficulty in studying early developmental processes and testing hypotheses of possible cellular mechanisms of development has been the inability to reproducibly identify specific cell types. We have generated monoclonal antibodies that distinguish among major cell types present during mammalian neurogenesis. These antibodies have been used to analyze the development of cellular organization in the early nervous system. Monoclonal antibody Rat-401 identifies a transient radial glial cell in the embryonic rat central nervous system (CNS) that is temporally and spatially suited to guide neuronal migration. Rat-401 also identifies a peripheral non-neuronal cell that may establish axon routes from the CNS to the periphery. Monoclonal antibody Rat-202 recognizes an antigen present in early axons, their growth cones, and filopodia, and has allowed us to follow early axons and observe the structures they contact. Two other antibodies that recognize axons demonstrate antigenically distinct phases in axon development. In addition, we report a marker for another cell class present in the developing nervous system, the endothelial cells that give rise to the CNS vasculature.

Evidence for a mouse brain-specific variant of α-tubulin

“…In accord with a previous immunohistochemical study [10], anti-Nes-1 and anti-Nes-2 bound to the cytoplasm of radially oriented cells in the moleculer layer of the P4 rat cerebellum [7]. In sections of E12 mouse neural tube, anti-Nes-1 also stained radial processes of NPC as well as the floor plate region, and anti-Nes-2 reacted with radial NPC and postmitotic cells [7].…”

Notch 2 and Notch 1/3 segregate to neuronal and glial lineages of the developing olfactory epithelium

“…Throughout embryogenesis and early postnatal development, the OE contains nestin-expressing cells with radial processes that span the neuronal layers of the OE (Fig. 6A,B; green), in a similar manner to radial glia of the CNS (Hockfield and McKay, 1985). At E14 (Fig.…”

SPARC is expressed by macroglia and microglia in the developing and mature nervous system

“…The cell bodies of radial glia line the brain ventricles, and their processes extend to the pial surface where they attach with endfeet (Rakic, 1972). Radial glia express the marker nestin (Hockfield and McKay, 1985), an intermediate filament protein, and subpopulations express the neurogenic radial glial markers, brain lipid binding protein (BLBP) (Feng et al, 1994;Anthony et al, 2004), and a disintegrin and metalloprotease 21 (ADAM21) .…”