A Schwann cell antigen recognized by monoclonal antibody 217c is the rat low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor.

Monoclonal antibody 217c was generated against an antigen expressed on the rat glial cell line, C6 glioma, 217c has been shown to recognize Schwann cells in mixed cultures as well as in tissue sections and has been used to identify Schwann cells independent of other markers, such as monoclonal antibody 192-IgG, which recognizes the rat low affinity nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor. Here we show that the antigen recognized by 217c is the rat low-affinity NGF receptor. This indicates that monoclonal antibodies 192-IgG and 217c are not independent markers and therefore that additional criteria need to be used for the identification of Schwann cells early in development.