Distribution of the 3-fucosyl-N-acetyl-lactosamine (FAL) epitope in the adult mouse brain.

The distribution of the 3-fucosyl-N-acetyl-lactosamine (FAL) epitope within the adult mouse brain was studied by immunohistochemistry using the monoclonal antibody Leu-M1. Leu-M1-positive elements comprised astrocytes and neurons. FAL-positive astrocytes were particularly abundant in barrier structures of the brain, but were also prominent at the periphery of most medullated fiber tracts. Their intracerebral distribution led to a distinct pattern of organization, which in some locations, including the cerebral cortex, could be used for an extended regional architectonic description. Since only some FAL-positive astrocytes were also positive for glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP), the emerging topography of the FAL-positive astrocytes often differed from the GFAP-distribution. In the cerebellum, Bergmann glia cells expressed the FAL epitope and, in the vermis, their arrangement had a band-like appearance. Positive oligodendrocytes could not be identified. The common ependymal cells were negative, whereas tanycytes were highly immunoreactive. The Leu-M1 antibody also stained some neurons. These occurred in selected neocortical regions, within the dorsal and ventral striatum, in the globus pallidus, the nucleus basalis of Meynert, the nucleus diagonalis and some hypothalamic areas. In some instances, their morphology and location indicated an association with neurochemically specified cell groups.