抄録
Immunohistochemistry using an antiserum to fibronectin (FN) demonstrated that FN appeared in neuronal and glial cells in the adult rat brain following cortical injury, while it was absent in neural components of intact rat brain. At early stages of lesioning induced by either cortical undercut or UV irradiation, FN-like immunoreactivity was clearly observed in cytoplasm of damaged neuronal and glial cells. At later stages, FN immunoreactivity was found in some neuronal pathways descending from the lesioned cortex. Immunoelectron microscopic examination confirmed that FN-like immunoreactivity was localized in deformed, probably regenerating, axons and nerve terminals. These results suggest that FN has important roles in scavenging degenerative axonal debris, elongation of regenerating axons, and synaptogenesis.
