Histochemical distribution of acid glycosaminoglycans in rat cerebellum during postnatal development: neuropile.

Developmentally regulated modifications of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in the central nervous system (CNS) have suggested that also in the CNS, these compounds might participate in morphogenesis and nerve cell differentiation. However very few studies have been reported concerning the regional distribution of these compounds by histochemical techniques. We have used the Alcian Blue staining method also in conjunction with enzymatic digestion and with a technique which allowed the measurement of the degree of GAG sulphatation. The combination of the three techniques showed that during the first week GAGs, presumed to be hyaluronic acid, are localized throughout the neuropile of the entire cerebellum and especially in the medullary region. Sulphated glycans appear later in the medullary region (particularly at the border between the medullary region and the internal granular layer) and in all the layers of cerebellum (in particular around the Purkinje and deep cerebellar nuclei neurons and possibly in the cerebellar glomeruli). Sulphated glycans in the medullary region disappear around the 12th day when myelination starts. The transient presence of glycoproteins in the molecular layer was also detected.