Morphological analysis of the compartments formed by the transgenic mouse astrocytes

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We have generated transgenic mice in which astrocytes are labeled by the enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP). We identified these EGFP-positive cells as astrocytes by means of the GFAP immunostaining method. In all regions of the CNS, such as neocortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, thalamus, corpus callosum, pyramidal tract, and brain stem, EGFP-positive cells could be visualized by the confocal laser microscope. Highest EGFP expression was observed in the cerebellum, hippocampus, and corpus callosum, and pyramidal tract. Some brain areas, however, such as neocortex and several brain stem nuclei showed only low levels of EGFP expression. Therefore, the boundaries of the neuronal nuclei in the brain stem were not well delineated because of the heterogeneous expression of the EGFP.