Histochemistry of the extracellular matrix in the snail central nervous system.

Even tough the central nervous system (CNS) of gastropods has long been used as a model for studying different neuronal networks underlying behaviors, there is only little information on the molecular components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the nervous tissue. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify some of the ECM molecules by acid-base histochemistry. Staining with alcian blue at strong acidic pH, and with acridine orange at different pH and salt concentrations was carried out on cryostat sections taken from CNS preparations of adult specimens of the terrestrial snail, Helix pomatia, and the aquatic species, Lymnaea stagnolis, in order to visualize mild (carboxyl) and strong (sulphate) acidic groups, which are characteristic for different glucosaminoglycans. According to our findings, sulphated proteoglycans were abundant in the periganglionic sheath of both species, and they also occurred in the neuropil of Helix, whereas they were absent in Lymnaea. The interperikaryonal space contained mainly carboxyl residues, which might refer to the presence of hyaluronic acid. It is concluded that the ECM of the snail CNS, similarly to that in vertebrates, is partly composed of polymer macromolecules of different chemical properties. It is suggested that adaptation to environmental conditions and/or altered neuronal plasticity are responsible for the differences found in chemical characters of the ECM molecules between the two snail species.