Immunohistochemical expression of peroxisomal enzymes in developing human brain

The immunohistochemistry of peroxisomes was examined in human brains from fetal to adult ages using antibodies against catalase (CAT), acyl-CoA oxidase (AOX), and 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase (PT) on conventional formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections. Positive staining neurons first appeared in the basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum at 27-28 wk of gestation, and in the frontal cortex at 35-36 wk of gestation. They increased in number with gestational age and the intensity of immunostaining increased with enlargement of perikaryonal size. Positively staining glial cells first appeared in the deep white matter at 31-32 wk of gestation, their appearance showing a shift from the deep to the superficial white matter with increasing age. This developmental change in the peroxisomal immunoreactivities in glial cells corresponds with that in myelination glia. Therefore, the results suggest that peroxisomes are closely related to neuronal growth and myelinogenesis in the developing human brain. Also, our results as to myelinogenesis may explain one pathogenetic factor of dysmyelination in peroxisomal disorders.