Morphological localization of NG2 positive cells in the brain of adult rats / 第三军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the localization of NG2 positive cells and morphological character in the brain of adult rats. Methods Immunohistochemical method was applied to determine the expression of NG2 positive cells in the cerebrum cortex, hippocampus, dentate gyrus, thalamencephalon and hypothalamus of adult rats. Image analysis program Image Pro Plus 5.0 was used to count the positive cells and for statistic analysis. Results NG2 positive cells were strongly expressed in multiple brain regions of adult rats, of which strongest signals were centralized in gray and white matter of cerebral cortex, hippocampus, dentate gyrus, thalamic subventricular zone and hypothalamic periventricular region. The NG2 positive cells were seen with abundant process arborization which bifurcated two or more times. The soma of NG2 positive cell displays a star-like morphology with different shapes in the gray and white matter of cerebrum cortex. Conclusion NG2 positive cells are numerous in adult rat brain and display the special glial with a stellate morphology.