5B4-CAM expression parallels neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis in the developing rat brain.

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In order to study whether 5B4-CAM expression parallels neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis, a monoclonal antibody, 5B4, was used, which recognizes both fetal (185-250 kD) and adult (140 kD, 180 kD) forms of the neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM), to identify and localize the antigen in rat tissue during developmental ages P1 through P31 and in adults between P60 and 2 years of age. A ubiquitous pattern of intense immunolabelling was detected during the earliest stages of development. 5B4-CAM expression paralleled process outgrowth and the early stages of synaptogenesis in the cerebral cortex, hippocampal formation, and cerebellum. In the adult, immunoreactivity was generally less intense, but the cerebral cortex and hippocampal and cerebellar molecular layers, all areas implicated in learning-associated plasticity, retained substantial immunoreactivity. The inner one-third of the dentate gyrus molecular layer, an area implicated in axonal sprouting and reactive synaptogenesis, was particularly intensely labelled. Evidence from this work suggests that 5B4-CAM expression may be useful in monitoring neurite outgrowth and the early stages of synapse formation during development and possibly axonal sprouting and reactive synaptogenesis in the adult.