Volume 52 (8): 1031-1036, 2004 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. Differential Expression of Apolipoprotein D in Human Astroglial and Oligodendroglial Cells
Department of Morphology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Oviedo, Asturias, Spain Correspondence to: Dr. Jorge Tolivia, Departamento Morfología y Biología Celular, Facultad de Biología y Medicina, Universidad de Oviedo, Julián Clavería s/n, Oviedo 33006, Spain. E-mail: jtolivia{at}correo.uniovi.es Apolipoprotein D (Apo D) is a secreted lipocalin in the nervous system that may be related to processes of reinnervation and regeneration. Under normal conditions, Apo D is present in the central nervous system in oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and some scattered neurons. To elucidate the regional and cellular distribution of Apo D in normal human brain, we performed double immunohistochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and Apo D in samples of postmortem human cerebral and cerebellar cortices. Most of the GFAP-positive cells in the gray matter had features of protoplasmic astrocytes and were mainly Apo D-positive. Apo D staining was mostly confined to the cell soma and proximal processes, whereas GFAP extended to a rich and extensive array of processes. The fibrous astrocytes in the white matter were immunoreactive for GFAP but not for Apo D. In the white matter, Apo D was mainly detected in oligodendrocytes and extracellularly in the neuropil. The results of the present study support a specific behavior for each astrocyte type. These findings suggest that Apo D expression may be cell-specific, depending on the particular tissue physiology at the time of examination. (J Histochem Cytochem 52:10311036, 2004)
Key Words: apolipoprotein D GFAP astrocytes protoplasmic fibrous human
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