[Vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein in the cells of ectopic neurotarnsplants of rat neocortex].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of intermediate filament proteins (vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein--GFAP) in the cells of embryonic rat neocortex at different time points after its allotransplantation into injured sciatic nerve of adult animals. Using immunohistochemical methods, the differentiation of GFAP-positive astrocytes from vimentin-positive radial glial cells was observed in embryonic rat neocortex, grafted into sciatic nerve. It was shown that the differentiation of the embryonic neocortical astrocytes in the transplants took place a few days earlier than in the rat neocortex during normal ontogenesis. Reactive gliosis was demonstrated in the long-term transplants, as indicated by a large number of intensely stained GFAP-positive cells and vimentin-containing astrocytes. These findings suggest that ectopic neurotarnsplants could serve as a model for fundamental studies of the mechanisms of reactive gliosis development.