Antigenic Abnormalities in Fiber Tract Astrocytes of Myelin-Deficient Rats: An Immunocytochemical Study in the Olfactory Cortex

Abstract
Intrafascicular oligodendrocytes in myelin-deficient (md) rats typically fail to form myelin sheaths or survive to maturity. The present study of the md olfactory cortex compares astrocytes that develop either among populations of pathological oligodendrocytes in a fiber tract or the develop in neuropil, which normally contains few oligodendrocytes. Antigenic profiles for md and normal astrocytes were defined by the monoclonal antibody Rat 401, and by antibodies that recognize vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein. In the olfactory cortex, antigenic abnormalities were typically restricted to astrocytes located in the vicinity of pathological oligodendrocytes.