A neuronal cell-surface antigen is found in the CNS but not in peripheral neurones

Abstract

In embryogenesis, the neural tube gives rise to the neurones of the central nervous system (CNS) whereas those in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) are generated from the neural crest and possibly also the placodes. Little is known of the part played by cell-surface molecules in this early sorting-out process and in subsequent interactions between different classes of neurone during development. Of the few known antisera that seem to define neuronal cell-surface antigens, none appears to distinguish between neuronal subpopulations^1–4. However, the discriminating power of the immunological approach to this question has been greatly enhanced by the advent of the hybridoma technique for making monoclonal antibodies^5–8. We have produced a hybridoma secreting an antibody that binds to the surfaces of neurones from the CNS but not from the PNS. The accompanying letter describes a monoclonal antibody with the reciprocal neuronal distribution⁹.