ANKYRIN IMMUNOREACTIVITY IN ADULT-RAT CEREBELLUM

An antibody recognizing all ankyrin isoforms was employed to localize ankyrin in the cerebellum by light and electron microscopy. White matt er (myelinated fiber tracts) did not contain ankyrin. Granule cell bod ies and axons contained ankyrin which extended into the parallel fiber s and their synapses. Purkinje cells contained a nearly uniform plasma membrane undercoating of ankyrin in the cell body. However, in both o f these cell types ankyrin was not detected in dendrites. Basket and s tellate cells did not contain detectable ankyrin. Golgi neuroepithelia l cell bodies and processes contained ankyrin while myelin and myelina ted axons did not. These results indicate that the membrane skeletal p rotein ankyrin occurs in some, but not all, neuronal and glial cell ty pes in the cerebellum. For the neurons in which it does occur its dist ribution is polarized, being limited to cell bodies and axons while no t occurring in dendrites.