Serologic Specificities of Brain Subcellular Organelles

Abstract

Abstract Antisera were prepared to synaptosomal fractions isolated from rat cerebral cortex. The antisera, at optimal dilutions, reacted in the complement fixation reaction only with the synaptosomal fraction and synaptosomal plasma membrane fractions, but not with myelin, nuclei, soluble protein, mitochondria or synaptic vesicles from rat cortex. Little or no reaction was observed with membrane preparations from other rat organs. The specific antigenic determinants of the synaptosomal membrane were relatively stable to heat, sonication and mild tryptic digestion. These results demonstrate that the plasma membrane of cortical synaptosomes can be serologically distinguished from the plasma membrane of other organs and from the rest of the subcellular and sub-synaptic fractions of brain.