Fire Regime and Tree Diversity in Boreal Forests: Implications for the Carbon Cycle

Abstract

Purkinje cell bodies in rodent cerebellum have been shown to express neurofilament protein epitopes but neurofilaments are rarely seen in these perikarya by classical morphological approaches. In an attempt to solve this enigma the ultrastructural distribution of two neurofilament epitopes was studied by immunoelectron microscopy with two monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) of divergent specificity: one, Mab 04-7 recognized a phosphorylated epitope, the other, Mab 02-135 a non-phosphorylated epitope. Longitudinal filamentous elements were heavily labeled in basket cell axons and afferent nerve fibers with both Mabs. While Mab 04-7 was unreactive with Purkinje cells, the immunoperoxidase reaction product with Mab 02-135 was distributed in the form of patches with no filamentous substructure throughout the cytoplasm of these cells. The data complement the results of other immunocytochemical studies showing the presence of all 3 neurofilament constituent proteins in Purkinje cell bodies, and lead to the conclusion that in these perikarya the majority of neurofilament proteins are not assembled in the form of neurofilaments