IN-VITRO AND IN-VIVO LOCALIZATION OF PROSTAGLANDIN-H SYNTHASE IN FETAL SHEEP NEURONS

Immunoreactive (IR) prostaglandin H synthase (PGHS) was evident in pri mary cortical cultures as early as day 2 after seeding. Labeling did n ot increase with time in culture, nor was there an apparent difference in IR intensity between 2 and 10% serum cultures or between glial and neuronal figures. PGHS-1 IR appeared as a homogeneous cytoplasmic flu orescence compared with PGHS-2 IR which tended to be more intense, par ticulate and exclusively perinuclear. PGHS-2(+) IR in both neurons and glia increased with time in culture. Immunofluorescence varied in int ensity, but no significant degree of variation was seen between cell t ypes. Neuronal PGHS-2 IR extended into processes and amassed in growth cones and at the leading edge processes of astrocytes. Novel rosette formations, possibly lipid bodies, were common in cultured neurons, bu t not astrocytes. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.