Monoclonal antibody 14E recognizes an antigen common to human oligodendrocytes, Schwann cells, Bergmann glia, and a subpopulation of reactive glia.

The monoclonal antibody 14E immunocytochemically stains the nuclear membrane of oligodendrocytes but not myelin in tissue sections of adult normal human white matter. The nuclear membranes of Schwann cells in human peripheral nerve and cerebellar Bergmann glia were also visualized with this antibody. In actively demyelinating multiple sclerosis plaques the 14E antibody stained increased numbers of oligodendrocytes and the nuclei, perikarya and cell processes of hypertrophic glia, which were often multinucleate. Scattered small groups of these hypertrophic glia were present in areas of dense astrogliosis in acute plaques. The 14E-positive hypertrophic cells could be either a subpopulation of reactive astrocytes or bipotential glial precursors.