Structure and Spatial Organization of Microgliocytes in the Molecular Layer of the Cerebellar Cortex in Rabbits

Immunocytochemical and confocal laser microscopy were used to study the structural organization and spatial distribution of microgliocytes in the molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex in fi ve adult male rabbits. Reactions for the microgliocyte marker Iba-1 were highly specifi c, though until recently it was impossible to detect these cells selectively in rabbits. The molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex showed two variants of the organization of microgliocytes. The most commonly found were cells with processes with complex branches, whose main branches were often distributed radially. Perivascular microgliocytes with few processes were also seen, these having a near-fusiform shape. The characteristics of the structural organization of these cells were liked with the protective functions which they perform at the level of the blood-brain barrier.