Expression of LFA-1alpha and ICAM-1 in the developing rat brain: a potential mechanism for the recruitment of microglial cell precursors
Abstract
Several studies agree that microglial cells derive from monocytes that infiltrate the central nervous system during development, but the precise mechanism by which these cells enter into the nervous tissue is still unknown. In this way, the aim of the present study was to analyze the expression of two cell adhesion molecules involved in the recruitment of blood leukocytes into tissues, the lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1alpha (LFA-1alpha) and the intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in the developing rat brain (from E16 to P18). By means of immunohistochemistry, our observations showed that LFA-1alpha and ICAM-1 were expressed in the developing rat brain with a definite distribution pattern and a characteristic time course of appearance. In the embryonic period, LFA-1alpha immunoreactivity was displayed not only by intravascular blood cells but also by intraparenchymal round cells with a horseshoe-shaped nucleus, showing the typical morphological features of monocytes. Monocyte-like cells present in the embryonic brain parenchyma often displayed mitotic profiles. LFA-1alpha immunohistochemistry also revealed the presence of some LFA-1alpha-positive cells belonging to the ameboid microglial population (mostly in t...Continue Reading
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