Immunohistochemical localization of sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in Bergmann glia and oligodendroglia in the mouse cerebellum.

Immunohistochemical staining showed that the adult isozyme of sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) was localized in two populations of cells in the mouse cerebellum. Staining was not detectable until after 10 days of age, thus correlating with the onset of accumulation of the adult enzyme. The two cell populations were identified as Bergmann glia and oligodendroglia on the basis of their morphology, distribution and their nearly complete absence from cerebella of mice with mutations (Weaver, wv/wv and Jimpy, jp/Y, respectively (which are known to reduce the numbers of these cell types. Biochemical analysis of these mutants suggests that Bergmann glia contribute approximately 60% of the total cerebellar GPDH activity while the contribution of oligodendroglia in the cerebellum is negligible. In addition, immunohistochemical staining of the rat cerebellum showed a distribution of this enzyme similar to that of the mouse. However, oligodendroglia of the rat stained more intensely than did the Bergmann glia.