Extracellular matrix glycoprotein (hyaluronectin) in early cerebral development Immunofluorescence study of the rat...

The distribution of hyaluronectin, an extracellular matrix glycoprotein binding specifically to hyaluronate, was studied by indirect immunofluorescence in the cerebral cortex of the rat embryo. On days 11 and 12 thin strands of immunofluorescent material spanning the entire thickness of the telencephalon were seen. The appearance was similar to that observed with vimentin antisera decorating radial glia. On days 13-15 the primordial plexiform layer of the cerebral cortex was intensely hyaluronectin positive. On day 16 hyaluronectin immunoreactivity was mainly confined to Layer I above and to the intermediate layer below the newly formed cortical plate. It is suggested that in embryonal rat brain HN immunoreactivity is first distributed along radial glia and then accumulates in regions of axonal growth and neuropil formation.