Antibody for human p75 LNTR identifies cholinergic basal forebrain of non-primate species

192-IgG is an antibody directed against the p75 low affinity nerve growth f actor receptor in rats, whereas ME 20.4 was raised against the analogous pr otein in humans. Coupled to saporin, 192-IgG and ME 20.4 have been used to lesion basal forebrain neurons in rats and primates, respectively. We compa red the cross-reactivity of 192-IgG and ME 20.4 in the basal forebrain of r at, human, dog, cat, raccoon, pig, and rabbit. We found excellent species c ross-reactivity of ME 20.4 in dog, raccoon, cat, pig and rabbit. In contras t, 192-IgG did not label neurons in any species other than rat. Our finding s suggest that ME 20.4-saporin could be used to produce cholinergic basal f orebrain lesions in several non-primate species. NeuroReport 11:2177-2183 ( C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.