NEURAL CELLS FROM DOGFISH EMBRYOS EXPRESS THE SAME SUBTYPE-SPECIFIC ANTIGENS AS MAMMALIAN NEURAL CELLS IN-VIVO AND IN-VITRO

Neural cells are classically identified in vivo and in vitro by a comb ination of morphological and immunocytochemical criteria. Here, we dem onstrate that antibodies used to identify mammalian oligodendrocytes, neurons, and astrocytes recognize these cell types in the developing s piny dogfish central nervous system and in cultures prepared from this tissue. Oligodendrocyte-lineage-specific antibodies O1, O4, and R-mAb labeled cells in the 9 cm dogfish brain stem's medial longitudinal fa scicle (MLF) and in areas lateral to it. Process-bearing cells, cultur ed from the dogfish brain stem, were also labeled with these antibodie s. An anti-lamprey neurofilament antibody (LCM), which recognized 60 a nd 150 kDa proteins in dogfish brain stem homogenates, labeled axons a nd neurons in the brain stem and axons in the cerebellum of the dogfis h embryo. It also labeled cell bodies and/or processes of some culture d cerebellar cells. An anti-bovine glial fibrillary acidic protein ant ibody, which recognized 42-44 kDa protein(s) in dogfish brain stem hom ogenates, labeled astrocyte-like processes in the brain stem and cereb ellum of the dogfish embryo and numerous large and small flat cells in the cerebellar cultures. These results demonstrate that dogfish oligo dendrocytes, neurons, and astrocytes express antigens that are conserv ed in mammalian neural cells. The ability to culture and identify neur al cell types from cartilaginous fish sets the stage for studies to de termine if proliferation, migration, and differentiation of these cell types are regulated in a similar fashion to mammalian cells. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.