Coexistence of neurofilaments and vimentin in a neurone of adult mouse retina.

Different classes of intermediate filaments are restricted to particular cell types. For example, neurofilaments are found only in neurones, whereas filaments that contain the protein vimentin, which were found in some cells of mesenchymal origin and some forms of glia, are thought to be absent from mature neurones, and present only transiently in early embryonic neurones. However, evidence is presented here of an exception to that rule in the outer plexiform layer of the mouse retina. Double-labelling with antibodies to neurofilaments and vimentin showed that both types of intermediate filaments coexisted in the axonless horizontal cell of that retinal layer, recalling the previous notion that these cells are glial or intermediate between neuronal and glial (reviewed in ref. 10).