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.