In vitro and in vivo localization of prostaglandin H synthase in fetal sheep neurons

Immunoreactive (IR) prostaglandin H synthase (PGHS) was evident in primary cortical cultures as early as day 2 after seeding. Labeling did not increase with time in culture, nor was there an apparent difference in IR intensity between 2 and 10% serum cultures or between glial and neuronal figures. PGHS-1 IR appeared as a homogeneous cytoplasmic fluorescence compared with PGHS-2 IR which tended to be more intense, particulate and exclusively perinuclear. PGHS-2(+) IR in both neurons and glia increased with time in culture. Immunofluorescence varied in intensity, but no significant degree of variation was seen between cell types. Neuronal PGHS-2 IR extended into processes and amassed in growth cones and at the leading edge processes of astrocytes. Novel rosette formations, possibly lipid bodies, were common in cultured neurons, but not astrocytes. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.