Wisteria floribunda agglutinin labeling patterns in the human cortex: a tool for revealing areal borders and subdivisions in parallel with immunocytochemistry

Abstract 

Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA) is a lectin that labels selectively N-acetylgalactosamines beta 1 (GalNAc beta 1–3 Gal) residues of glycoproteins within the extracellular matrix of the neurons, and has been identified as a specific marker for functionally different cortical areas of the rodent brain. Here we report that WFA-binding sites can be used for the characterization of cortical areas and their subdivisions of the immersion-fixed human brain. WFA-binding showed an area-specific distribution pattern within areas 1, and 3a–3b of the somatosensory cortex as well as in the primary motor areas 4a–4p. The WFA-binding labeled stripes of 150–175 µm width at intervals of 800–1000 µm within the motor cortex but not in the somatosensory cortex. At the cellular level, differences in staining intensities among certain cell types were evident among WFA-positive glial cells. WFA binding seems to be a useful marker to reveal areal borders and function related intraareal specializations in combination with immunocytochemical techniques.