Summary
The presence of macrophages in the developing corpus callosum of fetal and neonatal rats is confirmed using ultrastructural, immunocytochemical and histochemical techniques. The macrophages are first seen in the corpus callosum at about the time the callosal axons cross the midline and penetrate the cerebral hemispheres and they persist until about 10 days postnatal. The cells are found in the corpus callosum dorsal to the lateral ventricle, in the sub-ventricular zone and in the forming cavum septi pellucidi. The macrophages were identified at the light and electron microscopic level, including labelling of the cells following an intracerebral injection of horseradish peroxidase. The cells were also positive for an esterase stain specific for blood monocytes and macrophages and were labelled with a monoclonal antibody directed against macrophage cell surface polypeptides (Springer et al. 1979). These observations confirm the non-neuroepithelial origin of certain forms of phagocytic cells during cerebral development.
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Valentino, K.L., Jones, E.G. Morphological and immunocytochemical identification of macrophages in the developing corpus callosum. Anat Embryol 163, 157–172 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00320673
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00320673