REACTIVE ASTROGLIOSIS IN NEONATAL RAT SPINAL-CORD AFTER EXPOSURE TO CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID FROM PATIENTS WITH AMYOTROPHIC-LATERAL-SCLEROSIS

Previous studies have proposed the presence of circulating toxic facto r(s) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with amyotrophic lat eral sclerosis (ALS). In the present study we show that there is an in creased number of astrocytes intensely immunoreactive for glial fibril lary acidic protein (GFAP) in the gray matter of the spinal cords of n eonatal rats exposed to ALS CSF. There is also increased expression of GFAP in the astrocytes of the white matter of neonatal rat spinal cor ds exposed to ALS CSF. Western blot analysis also confirmed the increa sed expression of GFAP. Accordingly, our study provides for the first time a clear evidence for the pathological response of glia to the cir culating toxic factor(s) in the CSF of ALS patients. (C) 1998 Academic Press.