 |
Previous Article | Next Article 
The Journal of Neuroscience, December 15, 1998, 18(24):10481-10492
Expression Pattern and Neurotrophic Role of the
c-fms Proto-Oncogene M-CSF Receptor in Rodent Purkinje
Cells
Shin-ichi
Murase1 and
Yokichi
Hayashi2
1 Department of Anatomy, Keio University School of
Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan,
and 2 Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Nagano
College of Nursing, Akoho 1694, Komagane-shi, Nagano
399-4117, Japan
 |
ABSTRACT |
To investigate whether the c-fms proto-oncogene
plays a role in the CNS, we examined its expression in mouse
brain. We found that c-fms-positive Purkinje cells first
appeared in caudal cerebellum at postnatal day 0 (P0) arranged
in a parasagittal manner, and most Purkinje cells gradually became
positive by P6. This differential expression was not seen from P7 to
adulthood, and the parasagittal pattern until P5 was different from
those of L7, zebrins, and the integrin 1 subunit. No neuronal
expression of c-fms was found in the other brain regions
examined. In both reeler and weaver mutant mice in the adult stage, all
Purkinje cells were positive for c-fms as in the
wild-type controls; however, the parasagittal bands of
c-fms-positive Purkinje cells were observed even in the adult staggerer mutant. To check the neurotrophic effect of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), we immunostained cerebella derived
from osteopetrotic mutant mice, that is, those devoid of active M-CSF.
We found that the number of calbindin-positive Purkinje cells in a
given cerebellum began to decrease substantially during the initial
4-5 weeks of the postnatal period. In addition, cultured Purkinje
cells were dependent on M-CSF for their survival. These data suggest
that expression of the c-fms gene is intrinsically programmed in the Purkinje cells and never affected by the afferent synaptic input and that neuronal survival of Purkinje cells is dependent on M-CSF after weaning. Therefore, c-fms is
considered to be a new developmental marker for Purkinje cells.
Key words:
granule cell; parallel fiber; neurotrophin; cytokine; microglia; integrin; zebrin; parasagittal band; CSF-1; retinoic acid
receptor-related orphan nuclear receptor
 |
INTRODUCTION |
The c-fms proto-oncogene
encodes the receptor for macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)
and is expressed in cells of the mononuclear phagocyte lineage
(Nienhuis et al., 1985 ; Sariban et al., 1985 ; Sherr et al., 1985 ;
Woolford et al., 1985 ; Rettenmier et al., 1986 ), in trophoblasts and
decidual cells (Byrne et al., 1981 ; Muller et al., 1983a ,b ; Regenstreif
and Rossant, 1989 ), and in B lymphocytes (Baker et al., 1993 ; Till et
al., 1993 ). In the CNS, the expression of c-fms has been
detected in microglia, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes in
vitro (Sawada et al., 1990 , 1993 ); however, the precise cellular
localization of c-fms in vivo is unknown. Recently,
several studies have indicated that M-CSF is involved in neuronal
development. The finding that M-CSF is produced by cultured cerebellar
neurons raises the possibility that M-CSF may play a role in the
cytokine network not only between glia but also between neurons (Nohava
et al., 1992 ). Furthermore, M-CSF is reported to function as a growth
factor in cases of tissue damage (Berezovskaya et al., 1996 ; Fedoroff
et al., 1997 ). In the present paper, we investigated what kind of
neurons express c-fms in the brains of developing and adult
rodents by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization
and found that Purkinje cells express c-fms. Lesion studies
of climbing fibers and transplantation of cerebellar anlagen into the
anterior eye chamber were performed in an effort to determine whether
the afferents to the Purkinje cells play a role in c-fms
expression. Cerebellar mutant mice of three types, the reeler,
staggerer, and weaver, and also osteopetrotic (op/op) mutant
mice that are unable to produce active M-CSF (Wiktor-Jedrzejczak et
al., 1990 ; Yoshida et al., 1990 ) were investigated to determine whether
the Purkinje cells of these mutants express c-fms. Using a
cell culture system, we confirmed that M-CSF possibly augments neurotrophic activities toward the Purkinje cells via
c-fms.
 |
MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Chemicals and reagents. Polyclonal antibody against
the cytoplasmic region of human c-fms protein (amino acid
residues 952-971) and a peptide fragment corresponding to this region
were purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, CA). This
antiserum is reported to recognize a single band of 150 kDa (Santa Cruz Biotechnology data sheet). Another three preparations of polyclonal antibodies against c-fms (#06-174, #06-175, and #06-176;
Upstate Biotechnology, Lake Placid, NY) were used to confirm the
central findings in this study. Anti-calbindin monoclonal antibody was purchased from Sigma (Tokyo, Japan). Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated anti-rabbit IgG antibody and Texas Red-conjugated anti-mouse IgG antibody were purchased from Molecular Probes (Eugene, OR). Peroxidase-conjugated anti-rabbit IgG antibodies were from Medical
and Biological Laboratories (Nagoya, Japan). Recombinant human M-CSF
(rhM-CSF) was obtained from Morinaga Milk Industry (Zama, Japan).
Immunoperoxidase and immunofluorescence staining. For the
experiments, 40 mice of the B6/C3Fe strain (CLEA Japan, Tokyo,
Japan), including mutant mice (The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME), and 15 Fischer rats (CLEA Japan) were used according to the
Animal Experimentation Guidelines of Keio University School of
Medicine. They were anesthetized with ether and by intraperitoneal
injection of 35% chloral hydrate (0.5 ml/kg) and were perfused through
the aorta with fixatives of 4% paraformaldehyde and 0.1 M
phosphate buffer or acid ethanol (5% acetic acid + 95% ethanol). For
immunoperoxidase staining, sections were treated with
anti-c-fms antibody (1:200) for 42 hr at 4°C and then
incubated with peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG (1:500) for 2 hr at room temperature. The immune complexes on the sections were
detected using a peroxidase substrate consisting of
diaminobenzidine-tetrahydrochloride as described elsewhere (Murase and
Hayashi, 1998a ). For immunofluorescence staining, dissected brains were
immersed in 20% sucrose and PBS, frozen in powdered dry ice,
and embedded in Tissue-Tek O.C.T. compound (Miles, Elkhart, IN).
Parasagittal or horizontal sections of brains (20 µm) were cut on a
cryostat and mounted on silane-coated slides for use in
immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization studies. The
sections were incubated with the mixed solution of anti-c-fms antibody (1:200) and anti-calbindin monoclonal
antibody (1:25,000) for 42 hr at 4°C. The anti-calbindin antibody was
used to demonstrate the spatial relationships between
calbindin-positive Purkinje cells and c-fms-positive
Purkinje cells. After being rinsed to remove excess primary antibodies,
the sections were incubated with the mixed solution of FITC-conjugated
goat anti-rabbit IgG antibody (1:100) and Texas Red-conjugated goat
anti-mouse IgG antibody (1:100) for 2 hr at room temperature. The
sections were rinsed in PBS, mounted in phosphate-buffered glycerol,
and examined in a confocal laser microscope (MRC-600; Bio-Rad, Tokyo, Japan) with a dual excitation mode as described elsewhere (Murase and
Hayashi, 1998b ).
For immunostaining of cultured Purkinje cells, the same procedures were
followed as described above.
In situ hybridization. The tissue sections were
prepared as described above. Before hybridization with oligonucleotide
probes, the sections were air-dried for 5 min. After the sections were rinsed in PBS, depurination was performed for 20 min with 0.2 M HCl at room temperature; then the tissues were treated
with proteinase K (25 µg/ml) for 15 min at 37°C. After
post-fixation with 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS (5 min), the sections
were immersed in 2 mg/ml glycine in PBS (30 min; twice). The sections
were dehydrated with a series of solutions of increasing ethanol
concentration and chloroform and finally were air-dried. An
"antisense" oligonucleotide probe (48 mer) complementary to the
sequence encoding bases 904-951 of c-fms mRNA was used for
hybridization experiments (Berezovskaya et al., 1996 ). "Sense"
strand probes with target sequences complementary to those of the
antisense probes were used as a control for nonspecific hybrids. The
oligonucleotides were chemically synthesized and HPLC-purified
by the Bex Company (Tokyo, Japan). The oligoprobes (0.2 µmol) were
labeled at the 3' end with digoxygenin.
Hybridization was performed at 37°C for 12 hr with 0.1 µg/ml
digoxygenin-oligonucleotide probe dissolved in the hybridization medium. After being washed at 37°C with 2× SSC for 30 min,
1× SSC for 30 min, and 0.5× SSC for 30 min twice, the sections were incubated in blocking solution (Boehringer Mannheim, Tokyo, Japan) for
1 hr. The sections were then treated for 2 hr with alkaline phosphatase-labeled anti-digoxygenin antibody diluted (1:300) with the
blocking solution. The alkaline phosphatase substrate 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate nitroblue tetrazolium
chloride was used for color development, without
counterstaining. All solutions used in this experiment were autoclaved
in the presence of 0.1% diethylpyrocarbonate (Nacalai Tesque, Kyoto, Japan).
Destruction of climbing fibers. Five newborns and seven
adult male mice 8 weeks old (B6/C3Fe strain) were used. Newborn mice were anesthetized with ether (Wako Chemical, Tokyo, Japan), and inferior cerebellar pedunculotomy was successively performed. The
posterior part of the occipital bone was removed, and the posterior
atlanto-occipital membrane and the dura mater were pierced and the
inferior cerebellar peduncles were cut by inserting a capsulotomy knife
into the fourth ventricle (Murase, 1995 ). A control adult without the
pedunculotomy was used for anti-calbindin staining of the inferior
olivary neurons.
Transplantation study. Cerebellar anlagen dissected from
embryonic day 14 mice was transplanted into the anterior eye chamber of
six adult mice (B6/C3Fe strain; 10 weeks old) using a microsyringe. Before the grafting surgery, the hosts were anesthetized with ether,
and their eyes were treated topically with 1% atropine in 0.9%
physiological saline to dilate the pupils. Subsequent immunohistochemical investigations were performed 30 d after grafting.
Mutant mice. The reeler, staggerer, and op/op
mutations were each maintained in the hybrid B6 × C3Fe
background, and the weaver mutation was maintained in the B6 × CBA background. These heterozygous mutants were purchased from The
Jackson Laboratory. Homozygous mutant mice were obtained by
intercrossing fertile heterozygous mice. The homozygous cerebellar
mutants were recognized by their smaller overall dimensions of the
cerebella, especially at the midline, and by their smaller numbers of
folia at postnatal day 6 (P6). At P24, the cerebellar ataxia of
mutants enabled us to identify homozygotes. The op progeny
were distinguishable from their normal siblings by a failure of
eruption of incisors postnatally. These op/op mice were
maintained on a diet of wet food purchased from CLEA Japan. Three
reeler, three weaver, and three op mice of P24, P27, and P7
staggerer mice of P6, P12, P20, and P24 were used. Six control mice of
the same age and strains of mutants were used according to the Animal
Experimentation Guidelines of Keio University School of Medicine.
Culture of Purkinje cells. Primary culture of rat embryos
(embryonic day 18) was performed according to the method described previously (Nakajima et al., 1993 ). Cell mixtures consisting of 70%
Purkinje cells were prepared as described elsewhere (Messer, 1989 ) and
incubated in DMEM/Ham's F-12 containing 10% FCS (DF-FCS) for 10 d. This culture medium was then replaced with DMEM/Ham's F-12
supplemented with serum-free supplements (DF-SF) as described previously (Hayashi et al., 1994 ), containing various concentrations of
rhM-CSF. Some cultures were continuously maintained in DF-FCS without
this replacement. These cultures were used as a control group and were
regarded as showing 100% survival. After 7 d of incubation, the
cultured cells were fixed and immunostained for calbindin to examine
the neuronal survival rate of Purkinje cells. This was calculated as
the ratio of the number of surviving Purkinje cells after a 7 d
period of culture in DF-SF to that of Purkinje cells in the control group.
Statistical analysis. The ratio of surviving Purkinje cells
under each culture condition was determined. Each experiment was done
in quadruplicate. Each value represents the mean and 1 SD. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA with
Scheffé's multiple comparison procedure (significance with
p < 0.05).
 |
RESULTS |
c-fms expression pattern in Purkinje cells
Anti-c-fms immunostained the Purkinje cells, whereas
the expression pattern of c-fms changed during postnatal
stages. During the embryonic stage, the expression of c-fms
was not observed (data not shown). At P0, when the
c-fms-positive Purkinje cells first appeared in the caudal
cerebellum, two symmetric bands arranged in a parasagittal manner were
observed (Fig.
1A,B).
During P1-P3, another two bands of c-fms-positive Purkinje
cells appeared (Fig. 1C-I). Furthermore, two small
clusters of c-fms-positive Purkinje cells were also found
consistently in the rostral cerebellum arranged in a symmetric manner
(Fig. 1E-G). Thus, the number of distinct major
bands became in total six during this postnatal period. From P4 to P5,
the expression of c-fms spread to the rostral vermis and the
hemispheres gradually (Fig.
2A,B),
while the immunoreactivity of some Purkinje cells was still negative.
The immunoreactivity was expressed evenly in most Purkinje cells at P6
(Fig. 2C), and subsequent to P7 and in the adult,
c-fms was expressed in all of the Purkinje cells (data not
shown). The immunoreactivity was localized not only in the cerebellar
cortex but also in the deep cerebellar and vestibular nuclei, where
Purkinje axons terminated and formed synapses (Fig.
2F). Double staining for c-fms and
calbindin showed that Purkinje cells were the c-fms-positive
structures, and calbindin-positive and c-fms-positive units
were compatible in the cerebella (see Fig. 5). Other calbindin-positive
neurons, such as hippocampal or cortical neurons, were not positive for c-fms (data not shown), and no immunopositive neurons were
observed except for the Purkinje cells. However, the Purkinje axons in the granular layer were rarely stained c-fms-positive (Fig.
2D). This profile of c-fms
immunoreactivity could not be reproduced when cerebellar slices were
processed with normal rabbit serum instead of with
anti-c-fms antibodies (data not shown) or when primary
antibody was preabsorbed with an excess amount of the c-fms
C-terminal peptide (Fig. 2E).

View larger version (110K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 1.
Postnatal mouse cerebella immunostained for
c-fms. Horizontal sections through the cerebella were
prepared and processed for immunostaining with
anti-c-fms. A,
c-fms-positive Purkinje cells first appeared as two
discrete parasagittal bands (arrows) in the vermis at
P0. B, High-power magnification of
c-fms-positive Purkinje cells (arrows) in
A is shown. The c-fms-positive cells were
arranged symmetrically. C, At P1, two additional bands
appeared; thus the number of parasagittal bands in total was four
(arrows). D, High-power magnification of
c-fms-positive Purkinje cells (arrows) in
C is shown. E, From P1 onward, small
clusters of c-fms-positive Purkinje cells
(arrows) were found in the rostral cerebellum arranged
in a symmetric manner. F, G, High-power
magnification of c-fms-positive clusters
(arrows) in the right lateral hemisphere
(F) and in the left lateral hemisphere
(G) is shown. H, At P2, four
parasagittal bands (arrows) were found as shown in
C and E. I, High-power
magnification of c-fos-positive Purkinje cells
(arrows) in H is shown. Scale bars:
A, C, E, H,
1 mm; B, D, F,
G, I, 100 µm.
|
|

View larger version (95K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 2.
Parasagittal bands of
c-fms-positive mouse Purkinje cells. Horizontal sections
through the cerebella were prepared and processed for immunostaining
with anti-c-fms. A,
c-fms-positive Purkinje cells were spread throughout the
hemispheres at P3. The Purkinje cells in the intermediate zone
gradually became c-fms-positive, so the clusters in the
lateral hemispheres were not so distinct compared with those in the
period of P1-P2. However, as shown in this figure, the Purkinje cells
in the lateral hemispheres showed strong immunoreactivity.
B, At P5, weakly stained Purkinje cells remained as
parasagittal bands. C, At P6, most Purkinje cells
expressed a substantial amount of c-fms, although the
extent of immunostaining was somewhat weaker than that observed in
other developmental stages. D, Higher magnification of
the cerebellum at P30 is shown. Purkinje cells and their dendrites
showed c-fms immunoreactivity. E, The
cerebellum at P30 immunostained with anti-c-fms
preabsorbed with antigen is shown. The c-fms
immunoreactivity was completely absent when preabsorbed antibody was
used. F, The cerebellar fastigial nucleus
(FN) at P30 is shown. Staining was found in the
boutons surrounding the somata of deep cerebellar neurons of the
fastigial nucleus. Because the deep neurons were
c-fms-negative, they were unstained. GL,
Granular layer; ML, molecular layer; PCL,
Purkinje cell layer. Scale bars: A-C, 1 mm;
D-F, 100 µm.
|
|
Because c-fms expression is known to occur in microglia,
astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes in vitro, we carefully
examined its expression in these glial cells in vivo.
However, c-fms immunoreactivity and mRNA expression were not
observed in this study (data not shown).
Expression of c-fms mRNA in Purkinje cells
To confirm whether c-fms mRNA is expressed in the
Purkinje cells, we performed in situ hybridization studies
using oligonucleotide probes. The specificity of the antisense probes
used in these in situ hybridization experiments was checked
by using corresponding sense oligoprobes as negative controls.
The sense probes gave dim signals of nonspecific background on the
somata of Purkinje cells (Fig.
3A), whereas antisense probes
resulted in strong distinct signals from Purkinje cells (Fig.
3B). Neither the dentate nucleus neurons nor other deep
cerebellar neurons showed any positive signal (data not shown).
Therefore, it seems that the positive immunoreactivity observed in the
case of Purkinje cells was specific for the c-fms
molecule.

View larger version (45K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 3.
Expression of c-fms mRNA in the
cerebellum of a P30 mouse. Digoxygenin-labeled oligonucleotide probes
complementary to mouse c-fms were prepared. Mouse brains
were hybridized with sense (A) and antisense
(B) probes. Hybridization labeling specifically
overlaid Purkinje cells (B). The sense probe gave
no signals in A. GL, Granular layer;
ML, molecular layer; PCL, Purkinje cell
layer. Scale bars, 100 µm.
|
|
Lack of involvement of climbing fibers in the expression of
c-fms in Purkinje cells
The developmental expression of c-fms
paralleled both Purkinje cell development and climbing fiber
arborization. Thus, we speculated that these developmental events were
not independent of each other. To test this hypothesis, we performed
lesion studies using mice in which the inferior cerebellar peduncle was
selectively cut. The inferior cerebellar pedunculotomy was performed at
P0 or at the adult stage. The pedunculotomized neonatal mice were examined immunohistochemically at P3 and P25, and the climbing fiber-deafferented adults were examined 30 d later. To ascertain the complete destruction of the olivary neurons, we sliced and stained
the medulla of the mice with anti-calbindin antibody (Fig. 4A,B).
No changes in the differential expression of c-fms
were found in these deafferented mice (Fig.
4C).

View larger version (122K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 4.
Effect of climbing fiber deafferentation on
c-fms gene expression in Purkinje cells. After mice were
pedunculotomized or after mice were subjected to cerebellar
transplantation, cerebellar tissues were removed and processed for
immunohistochemistry as described in Materials and Methods.
A, B, Transverse sections of inferior
olives (IO) stained with anti-calbindin antibody are
shown. A, IO prepared from an untreated normal adult
mouse. B, IO from an adult mouse pedunculotomized at P0.
Note the absence of the inferior olivary neurons in B.
C, Immunohistochemistry of a horizontal section of
climbing fiber-deficient cerebellum is shown. After inferior cerebellar
peduncles were cut in a postnatal mouse at P0, the cerebellum was
immunostained with anti-c-fms at P4. The destruction of
climbing fibers did not alter the pattern of expression of
c-fms (see Figs. 1, 2). D, Coronal
section of cerebellar anlagen immunostained with
anti-c-fms is shown. Cerebellar anlagen was prepared
from fetal mice at E14 and immunostained with anti-c-fms
as described in Materials and Methods. No c-fms
immunoreactivity was observed. 4 v, Fourth ventricle;
NE, neuroepithelium. E,
F, Cerebellar anlagen of E14 was grafted into the
anterior eye chamber of adult mice. Thirty days after grafting, the
grafted tissue was dual-immunostained with anti-calbindin
(E) and anti-c-fms
(F). The cerebellar tissue in the anterior eye
chamber contains calbindin-positive Purkinje cells, and the pattern of
expression of c-fms and calbindin was similar. These
calbindin-positive Purkinje cells formed clusters but were not arranged
in a single layer. Scale bars: A-C, 1 mm;
D-F, 100 µm.
|
|
It was of interest to test whether or not the afferent inputs at
prenatal stages may influence the expression of c-fms in the
cerebellum. Thus, we next transplanted cerebellar anlagen from mice of
embryonic day 14 into the anterior eye chamber of adult mice, in which
no afferents are included (Altman and Bayer, 1978 ; Wassef et al.,
1990 ), and c-fms was not expressed (Fig. 4D). Thirty days after grafting, the Purkinje cells
in the grafted tissue were immunostained with anti-c-fms as
well as with antibodies against calbindin, a typical marker of Purkinje
cells. The Purkinje cells in the graft were not arranged in a single
layer and rather showed a disorganized cytoarchitecture (Fig.
4E), which complicated our analysis of the Purkinje
cell banding pattern. However, they remained c-fms-positive
in their somata and dendrites (Fig. 4F). Thus, these
results strongly imply that climbing fibers do not affect
c-fms expression in developing Purkinje cells.
c-fms expression in cerebellar and op/op
mutant mice
The expression of c-fms and calbindin in cerebella of
reeler, staggerer, weaver, and op/op homozygotes was
investigated by dual immunofluorescence microscopy.
c-fms-positive Purkinje cells were found in the
op/op (Fig. 5A-C),
reeler (Fig. 5D-F), and weaver (Fig.
5G-I) mutants. The Purkinje cells in these three
mutants expressed both calbindin and c-fms, so the
distribution of these two antigens was the same. The staggerer Purkinje
cells expressed calbindin; however, some of these cells did not express
c-fms. Thus, the expression of c-fms among these
cells was not consistent (Fig. 5J-L). These data indicate
that the expression of c-fms is suppressed in some Purkinje
cells of the staggerer mutants by intrinsic mechanisms.

View larger version (89K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 5.
Dual immunofluorescence staining of parasagittal
sections from mutant cerebella at P24 by anti-calbindin
(red) and anti-c-fms
(green) antibodies. The regions expressing both
c-fms and calbindin are visualized as
yellow regions. In osteopetrotic
(A-C), reeler (D-F), and
weaver (G-I) mutant cerebella, the patterns of
expression of c-fms and calbindin are similar. Displaced
Purkinje cells in the reeler mutant express c-fms. Some
of the staggerer Purkinje cells (J-L) do not
express c-fms (arrows). Scale bars, 100 µm.
|
|
To investigate the possible mechanisms responsible for this finding
concerning the staggerer Purkinje cells, we checked frontal and
horizontal sections of staggerer cerebella in further detail. Because
Purkinje cells in the staggerer display developmental delay or arrest
(Yoon, 1976 ), we suspected that this may influence c-fms
expression in these cells. This developmental delay or arrest influences integrin 1 expression, which starts at P6 in normal pups,
and the absence of integrin 1 in the staggerer Purkinje cells
suggested that they stop development earlier than P6 (Murase and
Hayashi, 1996 ). Therefore, we suspected that the staggerer cerebella
would show parasagittal bands of c-fms-positive Purkinje cells when sectioned in a horizontal or frontal plane, and our investigation revealed that c-fms-positive bands were
evident even in the adult stage (Fig. 6).
The c-fms-positive bands in the staggerer cerebella
resembled those observed in the case of normal pups during P1-P3 (see
Fig. 1C,E,H).

View larger version (100K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 6.
Parasagittal expression of c-fms in
the staggerer Purkinje cells of P24. A, The selective
expression of c-fms occurred in the vermis and the
lateral hemispheres resembling the cerebella of wild-type mice during
the period of P2-P3. The clusters of c-fms-positive
Purkinje cells are indicated by arrows.
B, High-power magnification of the lateral hemispheres
of A is shown. C, High-power
magnification of the midvermis of A is shown. Scale
bars: A, 1 mm; B, C, 100 µm.
|
|
In addition to examining the staggerer mutant at P24, we also examined
the staggerer at P6, P12, and P20 to test whether the cerebella from
young staggerer mice expressed the parasagittal bands of
c-fms-positive Purkinje cells. The bands were found in the
staggerer cerebella examined, and they were similar to that of P24
(data not shown). Thus, most of the staggerer Purkinje cells were
calbindin-positive but c-fms-negative, whereas some populations of Purkinje cells were positive for both calbindin and
c-fms, and these cells were arranged to display the
parasagittal bands when the staggerer cerebella were examined in
horizontal or frontal planes.
Possible functional role of M-CSF and c-fms in
Purkinje cells
The functional role of c-fms in the Purkinje
cells was investigated using op/op mutants that could not
produce active M-CSF. All Purkinje cells of op/op mutants
showed both calbindin and c-fms immunoreactivity, as
observed in the case of their normal littermates (Fig.
5A-C), but their numbers were reduced during the initial
4-5 weeks in the postnatal period (Fig.
7). The distribution of the remaining
Purkinje cells was random, showing no evident bands (data not shown).
These data strongly suggest that the survival of Purkinje cells is
dependent on M-CSF after weaning. To confirm this dependency, we
prepared a mixed-cell suspension rich in Purkinje cells to be cultured
with or without M-CSF. In the absence of M-CSF, most Purkinje cells
died within a week, whereas most of them survived well when M-CSF was
added (Fig. 8).

View larger version (125K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 7.
Partial absence of Purkinje cells in osteopetrotic
mutant (op/op) cerebellum. Horizontal sections from
mutant cerebellum of P27 were prepared and processed for immunostaining
as described in Figure 1 using anti-calbindin antibody.
A, Surviving Purkinje cells positive for calbindin were
sporadically found. B, Massive loss of Purkinje cells is
evident between the arrows. Scale bars, 100 µm.
|
|

View larger version (43K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 8.
Enhancement of the survival of Purkinje cells by
rhM-CSF. Samples rich in Purkinje cells were prepared from cerebellar
cell suspensions of E18; then the cells were cultured in a serum-free
medium with or without rhM-CSF for 7 d. As a control group,
Purkinje cells that had been cultured in serum-containing medium were
used. The cells were then processed for immunostaining with
anti-calbindin antibody to calculate the ratio of survival of the
Purkinje cells compared with the control group. Each value represents
the mean and 1 SD. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA
with Scheffé's multiple comparison procedure (significance with
p < 0.05). The control group differs from every
other group. The groups with asterisks do not differ
from each other, nor do the nonmarked groups, but in all other
comparisons the differences are significant.
|
|
 |
DISCUSSION |
Glial cells were reported to express c-fms when
they were cultured (Sawada et al., 1990 , 1993 ), but we could not detect
the expression of c-fms in glial cells in vivo.
However, we have for the first time found that some Purkinje cells
expressed c-fms in the course of cerebellar postnatal
development and that the c-fms-positive Purkinje cells
formed quite unique parasagittal bands during P0-P6.
Several antigens are known to show a transient banding pattern in
embryonic or perinatal cerebella similar to that observed in the case
of c-fms. Among these molecules, the following are included:
cGMP-dependent protein kinase (cGK) (Wassef and Sotelo, 1984 ),
calbindin (Wassef et al., 1985 ), Purkinje cell-specific glycoprotein
(PSG) (Langley et al., 1982 ), PEP 19 (Wassef et al., 1992 ), and L7
(Oberdick et al., 1990 , 1993 ). The expression of these molecules was
first observed as parasagittal bands in the early developmental stage,
and such banding patterns were not found during the first to second
postnatal weeks, because all Purkinje cells began to express these
markers evenly. Although the transient patterns were quite similar, the
precise timing of onset of appearance and the expression patterns were
different for markers (Wassef et al., 1992 ). For example, the onset of
the appearance of immunoreactivity in Purkinje cells was observed at
E16 in the case of calbindin, E17 in the case of cGK, around E20
in the case of PSG and PEP 19, and P0 in the case of c-fms. mRNA of L7 appeared between P4 and P8 and continued to be evident through to the adult stage (Oberdick et al., 1988 ). In transgenic mice
carrying an L7- -galactosidase fusion gene, expression of the
transgene first appeared at E17 with four parasagittal bands of
Purkinje cells, and the number of L7-positive Purkinje cells gradually
increased during the first postnatal week. At P9, all Purkinje cells
expressed the L7 gene (Oberdick et al., 1990 , 1993 ; Smeyne et al.,
1991 ). Therefore, the duration of appearance of transient bands in the
case of c-fms, from P0 to P5, was different from that of
every other marker described above.
Subtle differences were confirmed by comparison of each spatiotemporal
pattern of gene expression. The transient bands of c-fms-positive Purkinje cells were characterized as four
main bands and two additional clusters in the lateral hemispheres (Fig. 1E), and the Purkinje cells of the midline were
devoid of c-fms immunoreactivity during P0-P3. However, in
the case of both cGK and PEP 19 the Purkinje cells of the midline were
characterized as showing strong immunoreactivity at the time of onset
of appearance of the transient bands (Wassef et al., 1992 ). The
expression of calbindin was not detected at the midline at E16, the
time of its onset; however, by E20 many Purkinje cells including those at the midline expressed calbindin. The banding patterns of calbindin and c-fms apparently differ from each other.
Other parasagittal bands were observed in postnatal or adult Purkinje
cells. Zebrin I (Hawkes et al., 1985 ; Hawkes and Leclerc, 1986 , 1987 ;
Gravel et al., 1987 ; Leclerc et al., 1988 ), zebrin II (Brochu et al.,
1990 ; Lannoo et al., 1991 ; Ahn et al., 1994 ), and integrin 1 (Murase
and Hayashi, 1996 ) were shown to reveal clear parasagittal bands
composed of Purkinje cells from P6 onward. Zebrin- or integrin 1
subunit-immunoreactive Purkinje cells first appeared caudally at P6,
and most Purkinje cells gradually became positive by P12. The
expression was then suppressed in some of these cells, so that the
positive Purkinje cells in the adult were organized into parasagittal
bands interposed by negative cells throughout the vermis and
hemispheres. In contrast to c-fms or other perinatal
markers, zebrins or integrin 1 showed parasagittal bands during the
adult stage.
The developmental period, when the parasagittal bands changed
dramatically, corresponds to the period of synaptogenesis and dendritogenesis of Purkinje cells. We suspected that the synaptic input
of climbing or parallel fibers might regulate c-fms
expression in Purkinje cells. However, the pattern of expression of
c-fms in the cerebellum was not altered or disturbed by
destruction of the climbing fibers, by the transplantation study, or by
reeler or weaver mutations (D'Arcangelo et al., 1995 ; Patil et al.,
1995 ). Thus, c-fms expression is independent of the synaptic
input of developing climbing or parallel fibers.
The staggerer mutant, whose mutated locus contains the gene encoding
ROR (retinoic acid receptor-related orphan nuclear receptor )
(Hamilton et al., 1996 ), provides another line of evidence that
Purkinje cells stimulate the autonomous expression of c-fms. The failure of interaction between ROR and the thyroid hormone signaling pathway might result in the immaturity of staggerer Purkinje
cells, so these cells are almost devoid of spines on dendritic
branchlets and have stunted dendrites (Landis and Sidman, 1978 ), and
analysis of chimeric mice comparing the homozygote and wild type shows
that the primary defect is localized to the Purkinje cells of the
homozygote (Herrup and Mullen, 1979b , 1981 ).
Is the presence of c-fms bands in the staggerer caused by
the developmental arrest or delay of the Purkinje cells? Yoon (1976) reported that the process of development of Purkinje cells as a whole
was either delayed or arrested in the staggerer. We reported that
staggerer Purkinje cells remained negative for the integrin 1
subunit for their entire life (Murase and Hayashi, 1996 ). Because Purkinje cells of normal pups begin to express integrin 1 at P6, the
absence of integrin 1 in the staggerer Purkinje cells suggests that
the development of staggerer Purkinje cells is arrested before P6.
During P1-P2, two symmetrical clusters of c-fms-positive Purkinje cells were observed in each lateral hemisphere, so three main
c-fms positive bands were evident on each side of the
midline. At P3, the Purkinje cells in the intermediate zone gradually
became c-fms positive, so the clusters in the lateral
hemispheres were not so distinct compared with those in the period of
P1-P2. In the case of P3 cerebellum (Fig. 2A), the
Purkinje cells in the lateral hemispheres showed strong
immunoreactivity. The three bands on each side observed in the adult
staggerer resembled those in the normal pups. Taken together, the
c-fms-positive bands in the normal pups and their occurrence
in the staggerer cerebella during P6-P24, it is plausible that the
staggerer Purkinje cells cease their development at approximately
P1-P3, resulting in their differential expression of
c-fms.
The next question is whether the retention of the c-fms
bands in the staggerer relates to regional differences in the number of
surviving Purkinje cells in the staggerer, because M-CSF signaling via
c-fms may function to promote neuronal survival. To test
this, we surveyed the cerebella of op/op mutant mice that
are devoid of active M-CSF. We found that the number of
calbindin-positive Purkinje cells in a given cerebellum was reduced
substantially during the initial 4-5 weeks of the postnatal period,
and the remaining Purkinje cells were both c-fms- and
calbindin-positive (Figs. 5, 6). These data strongly suggest that the
survival of Purkinje cells is dependent on M-CSF after weaning,
although the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear.
As for the reduction of Purkinje cell number in the staggerer, they are
reduced by 60-90% (Herrup and Mullen, 1979a ), and the reduction in
number varies in severity along a mediolateral axis. The reduction in
Purkinje cell number in the staggerer is most severe in the
intermediate region and least severe in the lateral cerebella and at
the midline (Herrup and Mullen, 1979a ). If this reduction is caused by
a direct effect of the ROR mutation, it seems likely that the
regional variation would not appear. From our findings on
c-fms expression and Purkinje cell loss in op/op
mutants, we postulate that the regional variation might be attributable
to the parasagittal expression of c-fms in the staggerer. We
therefore suggest that the reduction in number of staggerer Purkinje
cells might be triggered by the fact that most of them fail to express
c-fms because of their developmental arrest during P1-P3.
The restricted expression of c-fms might still allow the
Purkinje cells in the midvermis and lateral hemispheres to survive.
It remains unanswered why many Purkinje cells survive in the
op/op cerebella. One plausible explanation is that M-CSF has a neurotrophic effect after weaning, and until then other neurotrophic factors might nurture the Purkinje cells. This idea is partly supported
by the results that cultured Purkinje cells show more survival activity
in the presence of M-CSF than in its absence (Fig. 8). Therefore, the
decreased number of op/op Purkinje cells in postnatal
cerebellum is possibly caused by a deficiency of M-CSF in a critical
period after weaning. However, we could not observe the complete
degeneration of Purkinje cells in the living op/op mice,
because these mice usually die during P28-P30. Further studies would
be indispensable to determine whether ectopic M-CSF is effective to
inhibit the decrease in Purkinje cell numbers in op/op mice.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
Received June 4, 1998; revised Sept. 21, 1998; accepted Oct. 1, 1998.
This research was supported by the Narishige Neuroscience Research
Fund, the Keio Health Counseling Center, and the Ministry of Education,
Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan.
Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. S. Murase, c/o Dr. Alan F. Horwitz, Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B107 Chemical and Life Science Laboratory, 601 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801.
 |
REFERENCES |
-
Ahn AH,
Dziennis S,
Hawkes R,
Herrup K
(1994)
The cloning of zebrin II reveals its identity with aldolase C.
Development
120:2081-2090[Abstract].
-
Altman J,
Bayer SA
(1978)
Prenatal development of the cerebellar system in the rat. I. Cytogenesis and histogenesis of the deep cerebellar nuclei and the cortex of the cerebellum.
J Comp Neurol
179:23-48[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Baker AH,
Ridge SA,
Hoy T,
Cachia PG,
Culligan D,
Baines P,
Whittaker JA,
Jacobs A,
Padua RA
(1993)
Expression of the colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor in B lymphocytes.
Oncogene
8:371-378[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Berezovskaya O,
Maysinger D,
Fedoroff S
(1996)
Colony stimulating factor-1 potentiates neuronal survival in cerebral cortex ischemic lesion.
Acta Neuropathol (Berl)
92:479-486[Medline].
-
Brochu G,
Maler L,
Hawkes R
(1990)
Zebrin II: a polypeptide antigen expressed selectively by Purkinje cells reveals compartments in rat and fish cerebellum.
J Comp Neurol
291:538-552[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Byrne PV,
Guilbert LJ,
Stanley ER
(1981)
Distribution of cells bearing receptors for a colony-stimulating factor (CSF-1) in murine tissues.
J Cell Biol
91:848-853[Abstract/Free Full Text].
-
D'Arcangelo G,
Miao GG,
Chen SC,
Soares HD,
Morgan JI,
Curran T
(1995)
A protein related to extracellular matrix proteins deleted in the mouse mutant reeler.
Nature
374:719-723[Medline].
-
Fedoroff S,
Berezovskaya O,
Maysinger D
(1997)
Role of colony stimulating factor-1 in brain damage caused by ischemia.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev
21:187-191[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Gravel C,
Eisenman LM,
Sasseville R,
Hawkes R
(1987)
Parasagittal organization of the rat cerebellar cortex: direct correlation between antigenic Purkinje cell bands revealed by mabQ113 and the organization of the olivocerebellar projection.
J Comp Neurol
265:294-310[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Hamilton BA,
Frankel WN,
Kerrebrock AW,
Hawkins TL,
FitzHugh W,
Kusumi K,
Russell LB,
Mueller KL,
van Berkel V,
Birren BW,
Kruglyak L,
Lander ES
(1996)
Disruption of the nuclear hormone receptor ROR
in staggerer mice.
Nature
379:736-739[Medline]. -
Hawkes R,
Leclerc N
(1986)
Immunocytochemical demonstration of topographic ordering of Purkinje cell axon terminals in the fastigial nuclei of the rat.
J Comp Neurol
244:481-491[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Hawkes R,
Leclerc N
(1987)
Antigenic map of the rat cerebellar cortex: the distribution of parasagittal bands as revealed by monoclonal anti-Purkinje cell antibody mabQ113.
J Comp Neurol
256:29-41[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Hawkes R,
Colonnier M,
Leclerc N
(1985)
Monoclonal antibodies reveal sagittal banding in the rodent cerebellar cortex.
Brain Res
333:359-365[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Hayashi Y,
Kawashima K,
Ohta J,
Nakajima M,
Kawashima T,
Yoshikawa K
(1994)
Alzheimer amyloid protein precursor enhances proliferation of neural stem cells from rat brain.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun
205:936-943[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Herrup K,
Mullen RJ
(1979a)
Regional variation and absence of large neurons in the cerebellum of the staggerer mouse.
Brain Res
172:1-12[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Herrup K,
Mullen RJ
(1979b)
Staggerer chimeras: intrinsic nature of Purkinje cell defects and implications for normal cerebellar development.
Brain Res
178:443-457[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Herrup K,
Mullen RJ
(1981)
Role of the Staggerer gene in determining Purkinje cell number in the cerebellar cortex of mouse chimeras.
Brain Res
227:475-485[Medline].
-
Landis DM,
Sidman RL
(1978)
Electron microscopic analysis of postnatal histogenesis in the cerebellar cortex of staggerer mutant mice.
J Comp Neurol
179:831-863[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Langley OK,
Reeber A,
Vincendon G,
Zanetta JP
(1982)
Fine structural localization of a new Purkinje cell-specific glycoprotein subunit: immunoelectron microscopical study.
J Comp Neurol
208:335-344[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Lannoo MJ,
Brochu G,
Maler L,
Hawkes R
(1991)
Zebrin II immunoreactivity in the rat and in the weakly electric teleost Eigenmannia (gymnotiformes) reveals three modes of Purkinje cell development.
J Comp Neurol
310:215-233[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Leclerc N,
Gravel C,
Hawkes R
(1988)
Development of parasagittal zonation in the rat cerebellar cortex: mabQ113 antigenic bands are created postnatally by the suppression of antigen expression in a subset of Purkinje cells.
J Comp Neurol
273:399-420[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Messer A
(1989)
Primary cultures of cerebellar Purkinje cells.
In: Manual of the nervous system (Shahar A,
ed), pp 198-199. New York: Liss.
-
Muller R,
Slamon DJ,
Adamson ED,
Tremblay JM,
Muller D,
Cline MJ,
Verma IM
(1983a)
Transcription of c-onc genes c-rasKi and c-fms during mouse development.
Mol Cell Biol
3:1062-1069[Abstract/Free Full Text].
-
Muller R,
Tremblay JM,
Adamson ED,
Verma IM
(1983b)
Tissue and cell type-specific expression of two human c-onc genes.
Nature
304:454-456[Medline].
-
Murase S
(1995)
Climbing fibre destruction triggers mossy fibre sprouting in adult rat cerebellum.
NeuroReport
6:777-781[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Murase S,
Hayashi Y
(1996)
Expression pattern of integrin
1 subunit in Purkinje cells of rat and cerebellar mutant mice.
J Comp Neurol
375:225-237[Web of Science][Medline]. -
Murase S,
Hayashi Y
(1998a)
Integrin
1 localization in murine central and peripheral nervous system.
J Comp Neurol
395:166-176. -
Murase S,
Hayashi Y
(1998b)
Concomitant expression of genes encoding integrin
v 5 heterodimer and vitronectin in growing parallel fibers of postnatal rat cerebellum: a possible role as mediators of parallel fiber elongation.
J Comp Neurol
397:199-212[Web of Science][Medline]. -
Nakajima M,
Furukawa S,
Hayashi K,
Kawashima T,
Hayashi Y
(1993)
Age-dependent survival-promoting activity of vitamin K on cultured CNS neurons.
Dev Brain Res
73:17-23[Medline].
-
Nienhuis AW,
Bunn HF,
Turner PH,
Gopal TV,
Nash WG,
O'Brien SJ,
Sherr CJ
(1985)
Expression of the human c-fms proto-oncogene in hematopoietic cells and its deletion in the 5q- syndrome.
Cell
42:421-428[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Nohava K,
Malipiero U,
Frei K,
Fontana A
(1992)
Neurons and neuroblastoma as a source of macrophage colony-stimulating factor.
Eur J Immunol
22:2539-2545[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Oberdick J,
Levinthal F,
Levinthal C
(1988)
A Purkinje cell differentiation marker shows a partial DNA sequence homology to the cellular sis/PDGF2 gene.
Neuron
1:367-376[Web of Science][Medline][Erratum (1989) 3:following 385].
-
Oberdick J,
Smeyne RJ,
Mann JR,
Zackson S,
Morgan JI
(1990)
A promoter that drives transgene expression in cerebellar Purkinje and retinal bipolar neurons.
Science
248:223-226[Abstract/Free Full Text].
-
Oberdick J,
Schilling K,
Smeyne RJ,
Corbin JG,
Bocchiaro C,
Morgan JI
(1993)
Control of segment-like patterns of gene expression in the mouse cerebellum.
Neuron
10:1007-1018[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Patil N,
Cox DR,
Bhat D,
Faham M,
Myers RM,
Peterson AS
(1995)
A potassium channel mutation in weaver mice implicates membrane excitability in granule cell differentiation.
Nat Genet
11:126-129[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Regenstreif LJ,
Rossant J
(1989)
Expression of the c-fms proto-oncogene and of the cytokine, CSF-1, during mouse embryogenesis.
Dev Biol
133:284-294[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Rettenmier CW,
Sacca R,
Furman WL,
Roussel MF,
Holt JT,
Nienhuis AW,
Stanley ER,
Sherr CJ
(1986)
Expression of the human c-fms proto-oncogene product (colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor) on peripheral blood mononuclear cells and choriocarcinoma cell lines.
J Clin Invest
77:1740-1746.
-
Sariban E,
Mitchell T,
Kufe D
(1985)
Expression of the c-fms proto-oncogene during human monocytic differentiation.
Nature
316:64-66[Medline].
-
Sawada M,
Suzumura A,
Yamamoto H,
Marunouchi T
(1990)
Activation and proliferation of the isolated microglia by colony stimulating factor-1 and possible involvement of protein kinase C.
Brain Res
509:119-124[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Sawada M,
Itoh Y,
Suzumura A,
Marunouchi T
(1993)
Expression of cytokine receptors in cultured neuronal and glial cells.
Neurosci Lett
160:131-134[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Sherr CJ,
Rettenmier CW,
Sacca R,
Roussel MF,
Look AT,
Stanley ER
(1985)
The c-fms proto-oncogene product is related to the receptor for the mononuclear phagocyte growth factor, CSF-1.
Cell
41:665-676[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Smeyne RJ,
Oberdick J,
Schilling K,
Berrebi AS,
Mugnaini E,
Morgan JI
(1991)
Dynamic organization of developing Purkinje cells revealed by transgene expression.
Science
254:719-721[Abstract/Free Full Text].
-
Till KJ,
Lopez A,
Slupsky J,
Cawley JC
(1993)
c-fms protein expression by B-cells, with particular reference to the hairy cells of hairy-cell leukaemia.
Br J Haematol
83:223-231[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Wassef M,
Sotelo C
(1984)
Asynchrony in the expression of guanosine 3':5'-phosphate-dependent protein kinase by clusters of Purkinje cells during the perinatal development of rat cerebellum.
Neuroscience
13:1217-1241[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Wassef M,
Zanetta JP,
Brehier A,
Sotelo C
(1985)
Transient biochemical compartmentalization of Purkinje cells during early cerebellar development.
Dev Biol
111:129-137[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Wassef M,
Sotelo C,
Thomasset M,
Granholm AC,
Leclerc N,
Rafrafi J,
Hawkes R
(1990)
Expression of compartmentation antigen zebrin I in cerebellar transplants.
J Comp Neurol
294:223-234[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Wassef M,
Angaut P,
Arsenio-Nunes L,
Bourrat F,
Sotelo C
(1992)
Purkinje cell heterogeneity: its role in organizing the topography of the cerebellar cortex connections.
In: The cerebellum revisited (Llinás R,
Sotelo C,
eds), pp 5-21. New York: Springer.
-
Wiktor-Jedrzejczak W,
Bartocci A,
Ferrante Jr A,
Ahmed-Ansari A,
Sell KW,
Pollard JW,
Stanley ER
(1990)
Total absence of colony-stimulating factor 1 in the macrophage-deficient osteopetrotic (op/op) mouse.
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA
87:4828-4832[Abstract/Free Full Text][Erratum (1991) 88:5937].
-
Woolford J,
Rothwell V,
Rohrschneider L
(1985)
Characterization of the human c-fms gene product and its expression in cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage.
Mol Cell Biol
5:3458-3466[Abstract/Free Full Text].
-
Yoon CH
(1976)
Pleiotropic effect of the staggerer gene.
Brain Res
109:206-215[Web of Science][Medline].
-
Yoshida H,
Hayashi S,
Kunisada T,
Ogawa M,
Nishikawa S,
Okamura H,
Sudo T,
Shultz LD,
Nishikawa S
(1990)
The murine mutation osteopetrosis is in the coding region of the macrophage colony stimulating factor gene.
Nature
345:442-444[Medline].
Copyright © 1998 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/98/182410481-12$05.00/0
This article has been cited by other articles:

|
 |

|
 |
 
O. M. Mitrasinovic, A. Grattan, C. C. Robinson, N. B. Lapustea, C. Poon, H. Ryan, C. Phong, and G. M. Murphy Jr
Microglia Overexpressing the Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Receptor Are Neuroprotective in a Microglial-Hippocampal Organotypic Coculture System
J. Neurosci.,
April 27, 2005;
25(17):
4442 - 4451.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|
|

|