Ultrastructure of GABA-neurons in cultures of rat neostriatum.

The subcellular distribution of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) was revealed by electron microscopic immunocytochemistry in primary cultures of the rat neostriatum. Immunoreactivity was restricted to a small nerve cell type with rich amounts of free ribosomes and an indented nucleus. Glial cells were non-reactive. The results indicate that GABA-synthesizing neurons are viable in culture conditions and suggest that neostriatal GABA-neurons are small cells with simple ultrastructure since larger cells did not possess immunoreactivity.