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Developmental changes of epidermal growth factor-like immunoreactivity in the human fetal brain
M Kato1, M Mizuguchi, S Takashima
1Department of Mental Retardation and Birth Defect Research, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
We investigated the immunohistochemical localization of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the developing human brain from 6 weeks of gestation to 3 months postpartum. EGF-like immunoreactivity varied in its localization and intensity according to the stage of development. At 10 - 20 weeks of gestation, EGF-like immunoreactivity appeared in proliferating and migrating cells in the cerebrum, disappeared thereafter, and appeared again in cortical neurons after 27 weeks of gestation. Astrocytes also showed EGF-like immunoreactivity from 27 weeks of gestation. These results suggest developmental regulation of EGF expression in the human brain, suggesting its physiological role in both neuronal and glial cells.