Histotypic pattern formation in cerebellar reaggregate cultures in the presence of antibodies to L1 cell surface antigen.

Reaggregate cultures of cerebella from 5-day-old C57BL/6J mice were cultured in the presence of Fab fragments of polyclonal antibodies against the cell surface adhesion molecule L1. Light microscopic examination showed that histotypic differentiation, as observed by the appearance of radially oriented glial processes and the sorting out of mature and immature neurons, was not affected by the antibody. Electron microscopic observation showed no effect on the synapse formation and the packing density of fasciculated neurites. These observations show that under the culture conditions used, L1 antibodies do not alter the particular cell interactions investigated in this study.