Morphological alterations in radial glial cells following brain injury in fetal mice

A glia cell population extracted from the developing brain of mice exposed to γ-irradiation at a dose of 1.0 Gy on embryonic day 13 (E13) was evaluated. An immunohistochemical detection method for the anti-GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) anti-body showed that the GFAP-immunoreactive fibers first appeared on E18. These radial glial fibers ran straight to the pial surface in the control, but were crumpled in the irradiated brain samples. Although some radial glial cells transformed into astrocytes over time in both the control and irradiated brains, astrocytes appeared in the irradiated brain earlier than in the control. These findings indicate that 1.0 Gy γ-irradiation causes radial glial fibers to crumple and could affect the transformation process whereby radial glial cells develop into astrocytes. (author)