Immunohistochemical evidence of myosin in peripheral nerves and spinal cord of the rat.

Abstract Myosin was localized in peripheral nerves and in the spinal cord of the rat using specific antibodies against highly purified smooth muscle myosin from chicken gizzard by means of an indirect immunofluorescence microscopical approach. A strong myosin immunoreactivity was found in the axoplasm of sciatic nerve axons as well as in axons of spinal cord ventral and dorsal roots. Nerve fibres in the white and grey matter of the spinal cord exhibited considerably lower fluorescence intensities. Positive results were also obtained with Schwann cells and astrocytes in the sciatic nerve and spinal cord, respectively. The specificity of antibody localization was established in sections treated with various control sera.