Expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein in immature oligodendroglia.

In the human fetal spinal cord at 15 to 16 weeks, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was demonstrated within the cytoplasm and processes of cells having the cytological, ultrastructural, and immunocytochemical features of oligodendrocytes--including processes that extend into and contribute to the formation of myelin sheaths. By 17 to 18 weeks, however, GFAP immunoreactivity was no longer evident within such cells. Thus GFAP is expressed by myelin-forming oligodendroglia early in their development.