Bj. Goldstein et Je. Schwob, ANALYSIS OF THE GLOBOSE BASAL-CELL COMPARTMENT IN RAT OLFACTORY EPITHELIUM USING GBC-1, A NEW MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY AGAINST GLOBOSE BASAL CELLS, The Journal of neuroscience, 16(12), 1996, pp. 4005-4016
The olfactory epithelium (OE) supports ongoing neurogenesis throughout
life and regenerates after experimental injury. Although evidence ind
icates that proliferative cells within the population of globose (ligh
t) basal cells (GBCs) give rise to new neurons, little is known about
the biology of GBCs. Because GBCs have been identifiable only by an ab
sence of staining with reagents that mark other cell types in the epit
helium, we undertook to isolate antibodies that specifically react aga
inst GBCs and to characterize the GBC compartment in normal and regene
rating OE. Monoclonal antibodies were produced using mice immunized wi
th regenerating rat OE, and a monoclonal antibody designated GBC-1, wh
ich reacts against GBCs of the rat OE, was isolated. In immunohistoche
mical analyses, antibody GBC-1 was found to label GBCs in both normal
and regenerating OE as we are currently able to define them: basal cel
ls that incorporate the mitotic tracer bromodeoxyuridine and fail to e
xpress cytokeratins or neural cell adhesion molecule, During epithelia
l reconstitution after direct experimental injury with methyl bromide,
expression of the GBC-1 antigen overlaps to a limited extent with exp
ression of cell-specific markers for horizontal basal cells, Bowman's
gland and sustentacular cells, and neurons. These data suggest that GB
C-1 may mark multipotent cells residing in the GBC compartment, which
are prominent during regeneration. However, a limited number of cells
in the regenerating OE with other phenotypic characteristics of GBCs l
ack expression of the GBC-1 antigen. GBC-1 has revealed novel aspects
of GBC biology and will be useful for studying the process of olfactor
y neurogenesis.