[Quantitative fluorescence-immunohistochemistry of presynaptic terminals using a monoclonal antibody against a...

We developed a method for investigating impairment of synaptogenesis quantitatively involving measurement of the fluorescence intensity emitted by immunohistochemically stained paraffin sections of rat brain using a monoclonal antibody (Mab 171B5) against a synaptic vesicle protein (SVP-38). We applied this method to congenitally hydrocephalic and non-hydrocephalic brains of HTX-rats, and compared the postnatal changes in the fluorescence intensity in the molecular layer of the cerebral cortex. In non-hydrocephalic HTX-rats, the fluorescence intensity remained nearly unchanged from the 1st to 7th postnatal day and then increased at an almost linear rate until the 21st postnatal day, when it reached 4.5 times the value on the 7th postnatal day. The increase thereafter was gradual until the 28th postnatal day. In hydrocephalic HTX-rats, the fluorescence intensity showed a marked reduction on the 28th postnatal day (p < 0.01). This finding indicated impairment of synaptogenesis. We believe that this method provides useful information for evaluating the impairment of synaptogenesis in various pathological conditions in mammarian brains. The basic aspects of this method which support its validity are also discussed.