Chronological and immunohistochemical observations of cerebellar dysplasia and vermis defect in the hereditary cerebellar vermis defect (CVD) rat

Hereditary cerebellar vermis defect (CVD) rats, a new neurological mutant, developed both cerebellar vermis defect and cerebellar dysplasia. Developmental alterations in the cerebellum of the CVD rats were studied chronologically and immunohistochemically. The earliest architectural abnormality was a maldevelopment of the inferior cerebellar peduncle from embryonic day 17 (E17), leading to an indistinct separation between the cerebellum and the pons. From E19, the CVD rats lacked vermis development and, therefore, the cerebellar hemispheres were fused. After birth, Purkinje cells and external granule cells (EGCs) penetrated into the pontine tissue, but retained their normal position until postnatal day 10. Cerebellar lamination began to be disturbed due to abnormal perivascular aggregations of the EGCs, resulting in convoluted and occasionally perivascular lamination. There were no Bergmann glia in the heterotopic cerebellum of the pons, and abnormally arranged Bergmann glia were observed in the mildly disorganized cerebellar hemispheres. Immunohistochemistry for calbindin revealed that abnormal orientation of the Purkinje cells might be related to the perivascular EGCs. Parvalbumin-immunopositive microneurons were seen only in the disarranged molecular layers, and synaptophysin-immunopositive cerebellar glomeruli were present in the afflicted internal granular layers. These findings suggest that perivascular EGCs may play an important role in cerebellar dysplasia and the developmental plasticity in the altered cerebellogenesis. Received: 1 October 1996 / Revised: 24 April 1997 / Revised, accepted: 11 June 1997     

Analysis of aberrant neuronal migrations in the hereditary cerebellar vermis defect (CVD) rat using bromodeoxyuridine immunohistochemistry

The hereditary cerebellar vermis defect rat (CVD) is a new neurological mutant characterized by cerebellar vermis defect and a dysplastic cerebellum, especially in the cerebello-pontine junctions. In this study, the cytokinetics of neuronal migrations in the CVD were analyzed using 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) as a labeling marker. From embryonic day 21, the CVD cerebellum was small in size with retarded foliation, but no significant differences were detected in the migration pattern of the BrdU-labeled cells between the unaffected controls and the CVD during the prenatal period. On postnatal day 0 (P0), heterotopic Purkinje cells, demonstrable by calbindin immunohistochemistry, were seen in the dorsal pons of the CVD. From P4, BrdU-positive external granule cells (EGCs), which were labeled by BrdU injection on P2, began to penetrate the pons. From P5, the EGCs aggregated around the blood vessels, leading to a disturbance of the cerebellar lamination both in the cerebello-pontine junctions and in the cerebellar hemispheres. Thereafter, the BrdU-labeled cells in the perivascularly aggregated EGCs migrated radially, and formed internal granular layers around the vessels, indicating an aberrant perivascular migration of the EGCs. These findings suggest that the EGC dislocation was preceded by an aberrant settlement of the Purkinje cells, and that the perivascularly aggregated EGCs resulted in cerebellar dysplasia in the CVD. Received: 8 July 1997 / Revised, accepted: 19 September 1997     

Dynamic transformation of Bergmann glial fibers proceeds in correlation with dendritic outgrowth and synapse formation of cerebellar Purkinje cells

Bergmann glia (BG) are unipolar cerebellar astrocytes, whose radial (or Bergmann) fibers associate with developing granule cells and mature Purkinje cells (PCs). In the present study, we investigated the morphodifferentiation of BG by immunohistochemistry for glutamate transporter GLAST and electron microscopy. GLAST was expressed widely in cerebellar radial glia/astrocytes during fetal and neonatal periods and became concentrated in BG postnatally. During the second postnatal week when PC dendrites grow actively, GLAST immunostaining revealed dynamic cytologic changes in Bergmann fibers in a deep-to-superficial gradient; Bergmann fibers traversing the external granular layer were stained as rod-like fibers, whereas in the molecular layer, the rod-like pattern was gradually replaced with a reticular meshwork. At postnatal day 10, the superficial rod-like domain was composed of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive/GLAST-positive straight fibers, forming cytoplasmic swellings and short filopodia. Along this domain, the tip of growing PC dendrites ascended vertically and entered the base of the external granular layer. The deeper reticular domain of Bergmann fibers was characterized by active expansion of GFAP-negative/GLAST-positive lamellate processes, which surrounded PC synapses almost completely. Therefore, the transformation of Bergmann fibers proceeds in correlation with dendritic differentiation of PCs. The intimate PC-BG relationships during cerebellar development raise the possibility that a preexisting glial shaft could serve as a structural substrate that directs dendritic outgrowth toward the pial surface, whereas the successive formation of a reticular glial meshwork should lead to structural maturation of newly formed PC synapses.     

Microglial response to the neurotoxicity of 6-hydroxydopamine in neonatal rat cerebellum

Depletion of noradrenaline in newborn rats by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) affects the postnatal development and reduces the granular cell area in the neocerebellum (lobules V-VII). During the first postnatal month, Bergmann glial fibers guide the migration of immature granule cells to the internal granule cell layer. Microglia and Bergmann glia may play an important role in this process, but the exact mechanism behind this phenomenon is not known. We studied the effect of systemic administration of 6-OHDA on the expression and localization on microglia and Bergmann glia in the neonatal cerebellum by immunohistochemistry. In the neocerebellum, 6-OHDA treatment caused a significant increase in the number of activated microglia. The increase was observed mainly in the granule cell layer and the cerebellar medulla. Bergmann glial cells in treated brains were abnormally located, did not form intimate associations with Purkinje cells, and the glial fibers were structurally different. Our findings indicate that a noradrenergic influence may be necessary for the normal maturation and migration of granule cells, and abnormal migration may be the result of Bergmann glia destruction and the activation of microglia. Activated microglia in the granule cell layer may be used as a marker for an injured cerebellar area.     

Spontaneous and ethyl-nitrosourea-induced medullomyoblastomas in cerebellar vermis defect (CVD) mutant rats

A 26-week-old female cerebellar vermis defect (CVD) rat, a mutant with cerebellar vermis defect and cerebellar dysplasia, developed a brain tumor about 10 mm in diameter. Histopathologically, the tumor consisted of diffuse proliferation of small round to ovoid cells with hyperchromatic nuclei, occasionally containing round to strap-shaped myoblastic cells. Immunohistochemically, the small round cells expressed neuron-specific enolase and synaptophysin, indicating neuronal differentiation; myoblastic components reacted to desmin, myoglobin, and vimentin. Based on these findings, the case was diagnosed as a medullomyoblastoma (MMB). Furthermore, two cerebella tumors in CVD rats, which were induced by transplacental application of ethyl-nitrosourea, showed histopathology similar to the aforementioned case. MMB is a very rare tumor in humans and animals; thus, it is noteworthy that MMBs developed in CVD rats, involving the dysplastic cerebellum with abnormal migration of external granule cells. Received: 10 May 1999 / Revised, accepted: 29 June 1999     

Loss of adenomatous polyposis coli in Bergmann glia disrupts their unique architecture and leads to cell nonautonomous neurodegeneration of cerebellar Purkinje neurons

The tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) is a multifunctional protein that inhibits the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway and regulates the microtubule and actin cytoskeletons. Using conditional knockout (CKO) mice in which the APC gene is inactivated in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-expressing cells, we show a selective and critical role for APC in maintaining the morphology and function of cerebellar Bergmann glia, which are specialized astroglia that extend polarized radial processes from the Purkinje cell layer to the pial surface. APC-CKO mice developed Bergmann glia normally until the accumulation of beta-catenin started around postnatal day 10 (P10). Their radial fibers then became shortened with a marked reduction of branching collaterals and their cell bodies translocated into the molecular layer followed by loss of their pial contact and transformation into stellate-shaped cells by P21. Purkinje neurons were normal in appearance and number at P21, but there was significant loss of Purkinje neurons and cerebellar atrophy by middle age. Outside the cerebellum, neither beta-catenin accumulation nor morphological changes were identified in GFAP-expressing astroglia, indicating region-specific effects of APC deletion and an essential role for APC in maintaining the unique morphology of Bergmann glia as compared with other astroglia. These results demonstrate that loss of APC selectively disrupts the Bergmann glial scaffold in late postnatal development and leads to cerebellar degeneration with loss of Purkinje neurons in adults, providing another potential mechanism for region-specific non-cell autonomous neurodegeneration.     

DNER as key molecule for cerebellar maturation

Notch signaling plays an important role in the process of cell-fate assignation during nervous system development. DNER is a neuron-specific transmembrane protein carrying extracellular EGF-like repeats and is expressed in somatodendritic regions. In vitro studies demonstrated that DNER mediates Notch signaling by cell-cell interaction. In the cerebellum, DNER is abundantly expressed in Purkinje cells and moderately in granule cells. DNER-knockout mice showed motor discoordination. The mutant cerebellum showed morphological impairments of Bergmann glia and multiple innervation between climbing fibers and Purkinje cells. Moreover, glutamate clearance at the synapses between parallel fibers and Purkinje cells was significantly weakened, and the expression of GLAST, a glutamate transporter in Bergmann glia, was reduced in the mutant cerebellum. Therefore, DNER contributes to the morphological and functional maturation of Bergmann glia via the Notch signaling pathway, and is essential for precise cerebellar development.     

Astroglia and microglia in cerebellar neuronal migration disturbances

Between the neuronal and glial cells there is a close relationship conditioning a tight morphological correlation and proper functional interplay. Disturbed interaction between glial and neuronal components leads to inappropriate neural circuits. The reflection of the failure of neural circuit organisation is the picture of morphological changes of neurons and glia. The appearance of microglia and astroglia was analysed in a defectively formed cellular network due to cerebellar neuronal migration disturbances. Focal disruption of neuron migration leads to their differentiation in an abnormal position manifested as heterotopias and cortical anomalies. Neurons that had lost their proper migratory way and heterotopically settled in the white matter were encircled by GFAP-positive astrocytes, with morphology appropriate for surrounding white matter. The microglial cells infiltrated the parenchyma within the heterotopic neurons playing a role in their elimination. In the cerebellar cortical malformations astrocytes were grouped near the Purkinje cells. In the minimal cortical dysplasia the increased number of astrocytes supported the neurons. Impaired morphological components of the glial-pial barrier were observed. In the massive cortical malformations a few degenerated astrocytes followed the disarranged Purkinje cells, while microglia and Bergmann glia fibres were not present. Absence of cells supporting and organizing the cerebellar cortex had an effect on loss of Purkinje cell shape, their disorientation and abnormal position. The appearance and localisation of the astroglia and microglia in the abnormal cerebellar circuitry due to migration disturbances is dependent on the pathomechanism of the anomalies.     

Differential neuronal and glial expression of GluR1 AMPA receptor subunit and the scaffolding proteins SAP97 and 4.1N during rat cerebellar development

In neurons, AMPA glutamate receptors are developmentally regulated and selectively targeted to synaptic sites. Astroglial cells also express AMPA receptors, but their developmental pattern of expression and targeting mechanisms are unknown. In this study we investigated by immunocytochemistry at the light and electron microscopy level the expression of GluR1 and its scaffolding proteins SAP97 (synapse-associated protein) and 4.1N during cerebellar development. In cerebellar cortex the GluR1 AMPA receptor subunit is expressed exclusively in Bergmann glia in the adult rodent. Interestingly, we observed that GluR1 was expressed postsynaptically at the climbing fibers (CF) synapse at early ages during Purkinje cell dendritic growth and before the complete ensheathment of CF/Purkinje cell synapses by Bergmann glia. However, its expression changed from neurons to Bergmann glia once these glial cells had completed their enwrapping process. In contrast, GluR2/3 and GluR4 AMPAR subunits were stably expressed in both Purkinje cells (GluR2/3) and Bergmann glia (GluR4) throughout postnatal development. Our data indicate that GluR1 expression undergoes a developmental switch from neurons to glia and that this appears to correlate with the degree of Purkinje cell dendritic growth and their enwrapping by Bergmann glia. SAP97 and 4.1N were developmentally regulated in the same pattern as GluR1. Therefore, SAP97 and 4.1N may play a role in the transport and insertion of GluR1 at CF/Purkinje cell synapses during early ages and at Bergmann glia plasma membrane in the adult. The parallel fiber (PF)/Purkinje cell synapse contained GluR2/3 but lacked GluR1, SAP97, and 4.1N at the time of PF synaptogenesis.     

Monoclonal antibodies to specific astroglial and neuronal antigens reveal the cytoarchitecture of the Bergmann glia fibers in the cerebellum

The cytoarchitecture of the cerebellar Bergmann fibers in the adult rat was investigated. Two monoclonal antibodies, one specific for the Bergmann fibers and astrocyte processes and the other specific for the cell bodies and dendrites of the Purkinje cells as well as an antiserum to the glial fibrillary acidic protein, were used in immunocytochemical peroxidase-antiperoxidase assays. The Bergmann fibers are revealed as columns organized in long vertical palisades parallel to the longitudinal plane of the folium. The palisades are not continuous; instead they are formed by sets of two to six aligned Bergmann fibers. Each of these sets of Bergmann fibers is separated from its longitudinally aligned neighbors by gaps. Each Bergmann fiber is formed by a bundle of two to four Bergmann glia processes which frequently show a helical organization. These results help to reconcile the different views on the organization of the Bergmann fibers derived from the studies done with the light microscope versus those done with the electron microscope. The Bergmann glia may play a fundamental role in directing the geometrical organization of the cerebellar constituents.     

Preferential transport and metabolism of glucose in Bergmann glia over Purkinje cells: A multiphoton study of cerebellar slices

Knowing how different cell types handle glucose should help to decipher how energy supply is adjusted to energy demand in the brain. Previously, the uptake of glucose by cultured brain cells was studied in real‐time using fluorescent tracers and confocal microscopy. Here, we have adapted this technique to acute slices prepared from the rat cerebellum by means of multiphoton microscopy. The transport of the fluorescent glucose analogs 2NBDG and 6NBDG was several‐fold faster in the molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex than in Purkinje cell somata and granule cells. After washout of free tracer, it became apparent that most phosphorylated tracer was located in Bergmann glia, which was confirmed by counterstaining with the glial marker sulforhodamine 101. The effective recovery of fluorescence after photobleaching showed that 2NBDG‐P can diffuse horizontally across the molecular layer, presumably through gap junctions between Bergmann glial cells. Our main conclusion is that in acute cerebellar slices, the glucose transport capacity and glycolytic rate of Bergmann glia are several‐fold higher than those of Purkinje cells. Given that the cerebellum is largely fueled by glucose and Purkinje neurons are estimated to spend more energy than Bergmann glial cells, these results suggest substantial shuttling of an energy‐rich metabolite like lactate between glial cells and neurons. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Effects of prenatal ethanol exposure on the development of Bergmann glia and astrocytes in the rat cerebellum: an immunohistochemical study.

The consequences of prenatal ethanol exposure on the postnatal development of Bergmann glia and astrocytes in the rat cerebellum were investigated by using glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunolabeling. Pregnant rats were either fed with an ethanol containing liquid diet (6.7% v/v) or pair-fed with an isocaloric diet throughout gestation. On postnatal day (PD) 15 and 22, parasagittal sections of the cerebellar vermis from female offspring were processed for GFAP immunohistochemistry to assess the development of Bergmann glia and astrocytes in lobules I, VII, and X and astrocytes in the central core of white matter. On PD 15, compared to control animals, ethanol exposed animals had fewer GFAP positive Bergmann glial fibers per unit length of molecular layer; a significantly greater percentage of morphologically immature Bergmann fibers; a significantly greater GFAP positive astrocytic area per unit area of internal granular layer and central white matter; and the astrocytic processes were wider and more closely packed. These glial changes were associated with significantly thicker external granular layer in all 3 lobules. However, no significant differences were seen between the ethanol exposed and control animals on PD 22, indicating "catch-up growth" in the ethanol exposed animals during the third postnatal week. These results suggest that prenatal ethanol exposure causes (1) delayed maturation of Bergmann glia, which in turn contributes to the delayed migration of granule cells; and (2) alterations in the normal postnatal development of astrocytes.     

Abnormalities of cerebellar foliation in rats prenatally exposed to ethanol

Pregnant rats were given a liquid diet containing 5% (w/v) ethanol between gestational days 10 and 21. Cerebella of their offspring were examined at 7 weeks of age. Rats exposed prenatally to ethanol showed a fusion of folia V and VI in the cerebellar vermis. Around the fusion, the cortical laminar structure was disrupted: Purkinje cell dendrites derived from each adjacent folium were tangled, and solitary or clustered ectopic granule cells were in the molecular layer. Some ectopic granule cells surrounded basophilic rosette-like structures. Glial fibrillary acidic protein immunostaining revealed defects in the glia limitans, which is formed by Bergmann glial endfeet on the cerebellar surface. Absence of the glia limitans was observed corresponding to the fusion area. These findings suggested that prenatal exposure to ethanol might impair the formation of the glia limitans in the cerebellum, resulting in the fusion of folia and the disruption of the cortical structure. These malformations may be involved in the delayed motor development and ataxia seen in human fetal alcohol syndrome.     

Combined pre- and postnatal ethanol exposure alters the development of bergmann glia in rat cerebellum

The development and maturation of Bergmann glial cells in the rat cerebellum was evaluated on postnatal day 15 by glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunocytochemistry, following combined gestational and 10-day postnatal ethanol exposure (a full three trimester human equivalency). GFAP-positive Bergmann glial fibers of lobules I, III, VIb, VII and X of the cerebellar vermis were examined and counted in the molecular layer (ML), the external granular layer (EGL) and the external limiting membrane (ELM). Ethanol exposure reduced:

1. (1) the number of GFAP-positive fibers (per unit length of folia surface) at all three levels;

2. (2) the percentage of mature fibers; and

3. (3) the cross-sectional area in all lobules examined. When data from the five lobules were pooled, there were 7% fewer GFAP-positive fibers in the ML, 15% fewer in the EGL and 20% fewer in the ELM; the percentage of mature fibers was reduced by 16%; and the cross-sectional areas of lobules were reduced by 16%. The altered development of Bergmann glia could be one of the factors causing delayed migration of granular neurons and reductions in the number of granule cells reported in other studies following developmental ethanol exposures and could help to explain some of the motor dysfunctions reported in FAS victims.

Differential localization of microtubules in cerebellar cells

The distribution and subcellular localization of microtubules in rat brain cerebellum was analyzed by immunohistochemistry with antibodies prepared against 3 synthetic peptides corresponding to the C-terminal region of beta-tubulin. The peptides used correspond to amino acid positions 416-425 (peptide 1), 416-431 (peptide 2), and 426-445 (peptide 4). The antibodies thus obtained displayed a remarkable specificity in reacting with different cell types in the rat cerebellum. Antibodies directed against peptide 1 primarily stained Purkinje cells and their dendrites and axons. Peptide 2 antibodies preferentially stained the glomeruli, while antibodies directed against peptide 4 preferentially stained Bergmann glial fibers. These results are discussed in terms of dissimilarities in microtubule organization and masking of epitopes by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) in individual cerebellar cells, which may be related to specific functional properties.     

Distinctive pattern of Bergmann glial pathology in human hepatic encephalopathy

Alzheimer type II astrocytosis is the pathological hallmark of hepatic encephalopathy. These astrocytes undergo a characteristic morphological change and, in addition, lose immunoreactivity for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). However, a previous study in the portacaval shunted rat, a model of hepatic encephalopathy, revealed increased rather than decreased GFAP immunoreactivity in Bergmann glia, a specialized group of cerebellar astrocytes. In the present study, sections of cerebellar vermis from 15 cirrhotic patients with hepatic encephalopathy and varying degrees of Alzheimer type II astrocytosis were stained using antisera to GFAP. The Bergmann glial cells did not show altered GFAP immunoreactivity compared to controls. In addition, the degree of GFAP immunoreactivity was not correlated with the degree of Alzheimer type II change nor related to the aetiology of the liver disease. These results suggest a differential response of Bergmann glia in human hepatic encephalopathy.     

Evolution of Bergman glia in developing human fetal cerebellum: A Golgi, electron microscopic and immunofluorescent study

Astrogliogenesis in the human fetal cerebellum was examined in 46 cerebella obtained from hysterotomy specimens ranging between 9 and 20 weeks of ovulation age. By correlating the results obtained by rapid Golgi and Golgi-Cox methods, the indirect immunofluorescence technique for glial fibrillary acidic protein, and electron microscopy, it was possible to ensure identification of cells and obtain a comprehensive view of the ontogenesis of cerebellar astroglia, in particular Bergmann fibers. Radial fibers were present at 9 weeks of ovulation age, with features of astroglial differentiation. In the cerebellar hemisphere radial fibers arising near the ventricular zone did not reach all the way to the pial surface but terminated in vascular walls of the intermediate zone. A second set of glial cells located in the intermediate zone gave rise to long, tapering processes oriented radially to the pia, some reaching to the pial surface and terminating there in conical swellings. Radial glia with these features were observed in cerebella at all fetal ages examined, indicating their availability for guidance of external granular cells as they migrate inward.

With advancing fetal age, the segment of those radial glia traversing the molecular layer demonstrated an increasing resemblance to Bergmann fibers, though the cell bodies giving rise to these processes were still located below the Purkinje cells. Transitional forms between radial glial processes and fibers beginning to resemble Bergmann fibers were observed in numerous specimens impregnated with the Golgi methods. Astrogliogenesis in human fetal cerebellum occurs earlier than formerly believed, and Bergmann fibers are a final stage in the development of a defined group of radial glia in the cerebellum.     

5'-Nucleotidase of cerebellar molecular layer: reduction in Purkinje cell-deficient mutant mice

The molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex contains high levels of the enzyme 5'-nucleotidase (EC 3.1.3.5), localized predominantly to Bergmann glia. In the present study, histochemical methods have been employed to examine the distribution of cerebellar 5'-nucleotidase in mice of two separate mutant strains in which Purkinje cells are eliminated selectively. In homozygous 'Purkinje cell degeneration' (pcd) and 'nervous' (nr) mice, molecular layer 5'-nucleotidase is greatly reduced and residual enzyme activity in colocalized with surviving Purkinje cells. These results suggest strongly that the expression of 5'-nucleotidase activity by Bergmann glia is under the inductive influence of their associated Purkinje cells.     

Reactive astroglia-neuron relationships in the human cerebellar cortex: A quantitative, morphological and immunocytochemical study in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

In order to investigate the role of neuron-glia interactions in the response of astroglial to a non-invasive cerebellar cortex injury, we have used two cases of the ataxic form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) with distinct neuronal loss and diffuse astrogliosis. The quantitative study showed no changes in cell density of either Purkinje or Bergmann glial cells in CJ-1, whereas in the more affected CJ-2 a loss of Purkinje cells and an increase of Bergmann glial cells was found. The granular layer in both CJD cases showed a similar loss of granule cells (about 60% ) in parallel with the significant increase in GFAP+ reactive astrocytes. GFAP immunostaining revealed greater reactivity of Bergmann glia in CJ-2 than in CJ-1, as indicated by the thicker glial processes and the higher optical density. Granular layer reactive astrocytes were regularly spaced. In both CJD cases there was strict preservation of the spatial arrangement of all astroglial subtypes—Fañanas cells, Bergmann glia and granular layer astrocytes. Reactive Fañanas and Bergmann glial cells and microglia/macrophages expressed vimentin, while only a few vimentin+ reactive astrocytes were detected in the granular layer. Karyometric analysis showed that the increase in nuclear volume in reactive astrloglia was directly related with the level of glial hypertrophy. The number of nucleoli per nuclear section was constant in astroglial cells of human controls and CJD, suggesting an absence of polyploidy in reactive astroglia. Ultrastructural analysis revealed junctional complexes formed by the association of macula adherens and gap junctions. In the molecular layer numerous vacant dendritic spines were ensheathed by lamellar processes of reactive Bergmann glia. Our results suggest that quantitative (neuron/astroglia ratio) and qualitative changes in the interaction of neurons with their region-specific astroglial partners play a central role in the astroglial response pattern to the pathogenic agent of CJD.     

Embryonic cerebellar astroglia in vitro

Three types of astroglia appear during cerebellar development--radial glia and Bergmann glia, which are thought to facilitate neuronal migration, and astrocytes, which are thought to compartmentalize mature granule neurons. Cells resembling Bergmann glia and astrocytes have been described in cultures of cerebellar cells harvested from early postnatal cerebellum. In this study, we have used cell-type specific antisera to visualize embryonic forms of cerebellar astroglia and their interaction with embryonic neurons in vitro. When cells were dissociated from mouse cerebellum on the thirteenth embryonic day (E13), 3 forms of cells were stained with antisera raised against purified glial filament protein ( AbGF ), all of which had more elongated processes and less complex shapes than astroglia from postnatal day 7. The vast majority of embryonic cerebellar neurons did not contact these immature forms of astroglia.