[The distribution of intermediate filaments in intracranial vessels in humans]

The distribution of intermediate filaments GFAP, Vimentin and Desmin was investigated in normal intracerebral and meningeal vessels in human material. Vimentin is detectable in endothelial cells of all cranial vessels. Moreover Vimentin is expressed in all vascular smooth muscle cells of the brain with the exception of arterioles in the white matter and in the pons. Desmin is only detectable in the tunica media of larger intracerebral arterioles or arteries, larger meningeal veins contain single Desmin positive smooth muscle cells. Immuno-electronmicroscopically Vimentin could be shown in endothelial and smooth muscle cells of larger venous and arteriolar vessels. We conclude from our immunohistologic investigation that there is an uneven distribution of Vimentin and Desmin in brain vessels which might reflect some ultrastructural peculiarities of brain arteries.