Temporal relationship between the appearance of vimentin and neural tube development

Intermediate filaments of the vimentin type that were initially identified within mesodermally derived cells have recently been demonstrated within several immature cell types derived from neuroectoderm, such as astroblasts and early stage neuroblasts. The objective of the present study was to determine the earliest developmental stage at which vimentin could be detected in the mouse neural tube. Vimentin was not detectable in the newly formed neural tube in E8 embryos. In the E9 neural tube the first positively labeled processes were observed in the ventrolateral region of the cervical neural tube with the processes having the distribution and appearance of those of radial glial cells. Between E9 and E10 there was a significant increase in the vimentin content of the neural tube as labeled filamentous bundles were observed throughout the ventricular cell layer and in the forming mantle layer. The distribution of labeled filaments in the E11 neural tube was similar to that of the E10 tissue although staining intensity was greater in the mantle layer in the E11 tissue. This work identifies the temporal relationship between the appearance of vimentin and neural tube development.