Antigenic compartmentation of the cerebellar cortex in the syrian hamster Mesocricetus auratus

Despite the apparent uniformity in cellular composition of the adult cerebellar cortex, a complex heterogeneous pattern can be revealed by using biochemical markers. One example is zebrin II/aldolase C, which is expressed by a subset of Purkinje cells that form a highly reproducible array of stripes. Zebrin II/aldolase C immunohistochemistry has been used in both section and whole mount preparations to analyze the architecture of the hamster cerebellar cortex. As in other species studied, zebrin II immunoreactivity in the hamster cerebellum is restricted to a subset of Purkinje cells and, more weakly, to astrocytes. Based on the distribution of these Purkinje cell subsets the hamster cerebellar vermis was found to consist of four transverse zones-the anterior zone, central zone, posterior zone and nodular zone. Zebrin II/aldolase C is expressed uniformly in the central and nodular zones, and as parasagittal stripes in the anterior and central zones. A similar alternation of homogeneous and striped expression domains is seen in the hemispheres. The topography of the hamster cerebellar cortex as revealed by zebrin II expression domains closely resembles that reported in other mammals. Thus, a cerebellar zone-and-stripe topography appears to be conserved across the Mammalia.