Astroglial dye-coupling: an in vitro analysis of regional and interspecies differences in rodents and primates.

A regional and interspecies comparative analysis of astroglial coupling was performed using astroglia-enriched subcultures, following Lucifer Yellow dye intracellular injections. Rat cerebral cortex subcultures showed a greater coupling level than striatal subcultures. Interspecies analysis demonstrated a significant difference in the level of astroglial coupling in human cerebral cortex, compared with that of rat or monkey. Results provide an ex vivo insight into brain regional and interspecies differences of astroglial coupling, which may be associated with in situ modular or conditional cellular assemblies of the brain neuropil.