Selective staining of a population of parvalbumin-containing GABAergic neurons in the rat cerebral cortex by lectins with specific affinity for terminal N-acetylgalactosamine.

Lectins with specific affinity for terminal N-acetylgalactosamine, Vicia villosa agglutinin (VVA) and Glycine max agglutinin (soybean agglutinin; SBA), are shown to stain selectively a subpopulation of GABAergic neurons in the rat cerebral cortex. About 90% of VAA- and/or SBA-stained cells are also parvalbumin-immunoreactive, but no VVA-stained cells showed somatostatin-28-like or cholecystokinin-8-like immunoreactivities.