The distribution of fibronectin, laminin and entactin in the neurulating rat embryo studied by indirect immunofluorescence.

This paper forms part of our study of the extracellular matrix and its role in the morphogenesis of the brain during the period of neurulation in the rat embryo. Using indirect immunofluorescence with polyclonal antibodies, we present here a descriptive study of the distribution of the matrix glycoproteins fibronectin, laminin and entactin. The observed distribution of the fibronectin matrix implicates it in providing a structural element in several morphologically active sites; in addition our observations support the previously suggested involvement of fibronectin in the migration of neural crest cells. Entactin was present only in the basement membranes in conjunction with laminin which was not itself confined to these regions. Laminin was also identified within the mesenchymal extracellular matrix, and its general distribution confirms the previously documented role of laminin in maintaining epithelial structure and organization. No patterning in the distribution of these three glycoproteins could be correlated with the change in shape of the neural epithelium associated with either tube formation or neuromere morphogenesis.