Two novel monoclonal antibodies (1.9.E and 4.11.C) against olfactory bulb ensheathing glia.

We produced and characterized two monoclonal antibodies, termed 1.9.E and 4.11.C, that specifically recognize olfactory bulb ensheathing glia. Both antibodies were generated using the olfactory nerve layer (ONL) of newborn rat olfactory bulbs (P0, P1) as immunogens. The specificity of these antibodies was tested by immunofluorescence techniques on tissue sections and cultures of adult and neonatal rat olfactory bulbs, and by Western blot analysis. 1.9.E labeled the ONL and glomerular layer of the olfactory bulb (OB) of adult rats. In newborn rats, 1.9.E immunostained ensheathing cells from the ONL and peripheral olfactory fascicles. Furthermore, 1.9.E reacted with some processes of the radial glia in the periventricular germinal layer of the newborn rat. Although 4.11.C also specifically labeled ensheathing cells in the adult OB, it did not stain any cell type in the ONL of newborn rats. The lack of double labeling with either 1.9.E or 4.11.C and anti-olfactory marker protein (OMP) antibody, a specific marker for olfactory axons, indicated that none of the monoclonals recognized olfactory axons. Double immunostaining of adult OB cultures with 1.9.E or 4.11.C and anti-p75-nerve growth factor receptor revealed that both antibodies specifically recognized ensheathing glia in those cultures. Filaments were strongly labeled throughout the entire cytoplasm of ensheathing cells, suggesting that 1.9.E and 4.11.C immunoreacted with ensheathing glia cytoskeleton. 4.11.C stained a few Schwann cells in adult sciatic nerve sections. Moreover, 4.11.C immunostained cortical astrocyte cultures from newborn rats (P1). In Western blot analysis both antibodies recognized a major component, migrating with an apparent molecular weight of 60 kDa, from olfactory nerve and glomerular layer (ONGL) extracts of adult and neonatal rats. The pattern of immunoreactivity of 1.9.E and 4.11.C antibodies suggest that both antibodies are specific markers for olfactory ensheathing glia in the adult rat central nervous system (CNS).