Developmental profile of a fetuin-like glycoprotein in neocortex, cerebrospinal fluid and plasma of post-natal tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii).

A fetuin-like glycoprotein (FLG) has been shown to be present in early cortical plate cells in the developing brain of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii). The developmental sequence of the occurrence of glycoprotein-positive fibres and cells in the dorsolateral telencephalic wall from newborn to day 40 is described. The level of FLG in CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) and plasma of the tammar wallaby has also been measured during pouch life. The presence of FLG in early postnatal fibre systems and in some cells in the primordial plexiform layer, as well as in early cortical plate cells of the tammar is similar to that of fetuin in fetal brain in sheep, pig and cow, and alpha 2HS glycoprotein in human fetal brain. The sequence of appearance of FLG-positive cells during neocortical development in the tammar is strikingly similar to that of a transient population of early cortical plate cells previously described in fetal cat and sheep cortex. During postnatal development, levels of FLG in tammar plasma and CSF follow a pattern different from that of other species. The developmental expression of all three related glycoproteins in their respective species is discussed.