Immunohistochemical study of ferritin-positive cells in the cerebellar cortex with subarachnoidal hemorrhage in neonates.

Ferritin immunohistochemistry was performed on the cerebellar cortex with subarachnoidal hemorrhage (SAH) in preterm and term neonates, in comparison with anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) for astrocytes and Ricinus communis agglutinin-1 (RCA-1) immunostaining for microglia. The ferritin-positive cells were increased in the cortex with SAH. The predominant cell type which was labeled with antiserum to ferritin in the human cerebellar molecular layer with SAH was the microglia, which were stained with RCA-1 but not with GFAP. Ferritin-positive microglia may be induced by ischemia with vasospasms, and be related to the loss of Purkinje cells.