Patterns of glial development in the human foetal spinal cord during the late first and second trimester

K. M. Weidenheim, I. Epshteyn, W. K. Rashbaum, W. D. Lyman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Although the presence of radial glia, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglia has been reported in the human foetal spinal cord by ten gestational weeks, neuroanatomic studies employing molecular probes that describe the interrelated development of these cells from the late first trimester through the late second trimester are few. In this study, immunocytochemical methods using antibodies to vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein were used to identify radial glia and/or astrocytes. An antibody to myelin basic protein was used for oligodendrocytes and myelin; and, an antibody to phosphorylated high and medium molecular weight neurofilaments identified axons. Lectin histochemistry using Ricinus communis agglutinin-I was employed to identify microglia. Vibratome sections from 35 human foetal spinal cord ranging in age from 9-20 gestation weeks were studied. By 12 gestational weeks, vimentin-positive radial glia were present at all three levels of the spinal cord. Their processes were easily identified in the dorsal two-thirds of cord sections, and reaction product for vimentin was more intense at cervical and thoracic levels than lumbosacral sections. By 15 gestational weeks, vimentin-positive processes were radially arranged in the white matter. At this time, glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive astrocytes were more obvious in both the anterior and anterolateral funiculi than in the dorsal funiculus, and the same rostral to caudal gradient was seen for glial fibrillary acidic protein as it was for vimentin. Myelin basic protein expression followed similar temporal and spatial patterns. Ricinus communis agglutinin-I labelling revealed more microglia in the white matter than in grey matter throughout the spinal cord from 10-20 gestational weeks. By 20 gestational weeks, the gradients of glial fibrillary acidic protein and vimentin expression were more difficult to discern. White matter contained more microglia than grey matter. These results suggest that astrocytes as well as oligodendrocytes follow anterior-to-posterior and rostral-to-caudal developmental patterns in the human foetus during middle trimester development.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)343-353
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Neurocytology
Volume23
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1994
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Anatomy
  • General Neuroscience
  • Histology
  • Cell Biology

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