Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 3, 369-375, Copyright © 1983 by Society for Neuroscience
Monoclonal antibodies demonstrate the organization of axons in the leech
S Hockfield and R McKay
Monoclonal antibodies have been generated that bind to subsets of neurons
within the leech central nervous system (Zipser, B., and R. McKay (1981)
Nature 289: 549-554). In this report we describe the binding patterns of
monoclonal antibodies to subsets of axons in the leech using
HRP-immunohistochemistry. Each antibody has a characteristic staining
pattern in the connective, the large bundle of axons that runs the length
of the nerve cord connecting each ganglion to its rostral and caudal
neighbors. These staining patterns are consistent along the rostrocaudal
axis of each animal, between animals of the same species, and, in many
cases, between animals of different species. These results show that axonal
position, like neuron cell body position, is a consistent feature of the
organization of the leech central nervous system. Two antibodies bind to
all of the axons in particular fascicles that are delimited by glial cell
processes; another binds to single axons in fascicles that contain other,
unstained axons. The grouping of antibody-identified axons into fascicles
does not correlate in a simple way with the grouping of neuron cell bodies
identified with the same antibody. The presence of one of these antigens on
the surface of axons suggests a possible role in axon fasciculation. This
report shows that molecular heterogeneity is a property of axons as well as
of neuron cell bodies and demonstrates the organization of specific
antibody-identified groups of axons within the connective.