Intermediate filament proteins in tanycytes of the third cerebral ventricle in rats during postnatal ontogenesis

Abstract

Cytoskeletal intermediate filaments (IF) are composed of proteins able to form homo- and heterodimers, while their repertoire can change during cell differentiation. Data on the IF protein composition in tanycytes lining the mammalian third cerebral ventricle are still discrepant. The aim of this study was to investigate age-related changes in the IF protein composition in tanycytes of the third cerebral ventricle in Wistar rats at different ages (7-, 14-, and 30-day-old pups and 4–5-month-old adults; n = 26), using immunocytochemistry and confocal laser microscopy. In adult animals, tanycytes were shown to express IF proteins vimentin, GFAP, and nestin. In different types of tanycytes GFAP and nestin begin to be synthesized at different postnatal ages. For example, in α1 tanycytes GFAP is already present in 7-day-old animals, while in β1 tanycytes it appears only by day 30 of postnatal development. Meanwhile, vimentin is an essential IF component at all ages studied. A comparison of our data with the results obtained on other animal models suggests the existence of species-specific differences in the IF protein repertoire in tanycytes.