J Vet Sci.  2002 Sep;3(3):239-245.

Immunohistochemical Localization of Nerve Growth Factor, Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein and Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor in Mesencephalon, Rhombencephalon, and Spinal Cord of Developing Mongolian Gerbil

• Park IK
• Lee KY
• Song CW
• Kwon HJ
• Park MS
• Lee MY
• Lee KJ
• Jeong YG
• Lee CH
• Ha KS
• Rhee MH
• Lee KY
• Kim MK

Abstract

The distribution of the nerve growth factor (NGF), the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and the ciliary neurotrohic factor (CNTF) was performed in coronal sections of the mesencephalon, rhombencephalon and spinal cord in the developing Mongolian gerbils. Generally, NGF specifically recognizes neurons with the NGF receptor, whereas GFAP does the glia, and CNTF does the motor neurons. The receptor expression was examined separately in gerbils between embryonic days 15 (E15) and postnatal weeks 3 (PNW 3). The NGF-IR was first observed in the spinal cord at E21, which might be related to the maturation. The GFAP reactivity was peaked at the postnatal days 2 (PND2), while the highest CNTF-reaction was expressed at PNW 2. The GFAP stains were observed in the aqueduct and the spinal cord, which appeared to project laterally at E19. The CNTF was observed only after the birth and found in both the neurons and neuroglia of the substantia nigra, mesencephalon, cerebellum and the spinal cord from PND1 to PNW3. These results suggest that NGF, GFAP and CNTF are important for the development of the neurons and the neuroglia in the central nervous system at the late prenatal and postnatal stages.

Keyword

NGF; GFAP; CNTF; Mongolian gerbil; immunohistochemistry

MeSH Terms

Animals
Brain Stem/enzymology/*metabolism
Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor/*metabolism
Embryonic and Fetal Development/physiology
Female
Gerbillinae/*embryology
Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein/*metabolism
Immunohistochemistry/veterinary
Mesencephalon/embryology/metabolism
Nerve Growth Factor/*metabolism
Pregnancy
Rhombencephalon/embryology/metabolism
Spinal Cord/embryology/*metabolism