Glial cells with differential neurite growth-modulating properties probed by atomic force microscopy

Lateral (L) and medial (M) midbrain astrocytes differ in their ability to s upport neuritic growth (L, permissive; M, non-permissive) with properties o f M glia depending on heparan sulfate (HS). Here we show by atomic force mi croscopy that the surfaces of formaldehyde-fixed astrocytes differ by consp icuous 250 nm protrusions in L and by a HS-dependent fibrillar network in M glia, thus, demonstrating correlations between cell surface morphology and functional properties. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights r eserved.