Localization of alpha-spectrin in chicken and monkey ventral horns by immunoelectron microscopy

Localization of alpha-spectrin in chicken and monkey ventral horns has been studied by immunoperoxidase techniques at the electron microscopic level. For this purpose, an antiserum specific for chicken alpha-spectrin (240 kD subunit of spectrin) was prepared. The characteristics of the staining patterns of both chicken and monkey ventral horns were essentially identical. The reaction product for peroxidase was contained in the somata of large cells (presumably motor neurons), dendrites and axons. No specific staining was seen with either preimmune or blocked sera. The staining within the cell somata was primarily localized in cortical cytoplasm. Within dendrites and axons the immunocytochemical label was associated predominantly with the cortical cytoplasm and with microtubules. Staining was heavy over postsynaptic densities. Although presynaptic terminals showed weak staining as a whole, heavy staining was sometimes observed in areas adjacent to the presynaptic plasma membrane facing the postsynaptic density. These results indicate that spectrin distributes widely and functions in many biological activities in the nervous system.