THE LOCALIZATION OF ANEURIN PYROPHOSPHATASE IN THE BRAIN

Abstract

Normal rat brains in 2 mm. slices were frozen-dried. The method of Naidoo and Pratt (1951) was used to localize phosphatase activity. PbS deposition occurred at points of phosphate liberation from thiamine pyrophosphate. The cell bodies in the cerebral cortex gave positive reactions but the depth of staining varied from region to region. The nucleolus was consistently the darkest structure. A heavy cell body stain appeared in the hippocampal formation, habenula, striatum, thalamus and hypothalamus. The cells of the central gray matter around the aqueduct stained deeply but elsewhere in the midbrain, pons and medulla the cells were stained lightly. Purkinje cells and Bergmann glia in the cerebellum stained selectively. Throughout the brain microglia and oligodendroglia were heavily stained but astrocytes varied considerably. The intima and lamina elastica of the larger intracerebral and extracerebral vessels stained deeply but elsewhere in blood vessels the stain was light.