Figure 1

DCX and vimentin are expressed by different SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cell subtypes. The sets of figures A-E and F-J are representative of a series of images taken from SK-N-SH cells cultured in control conditions. PC analysis (panels A and F) clearly shows the heterogeneity of the cell population. The triple IF for DCX (B), LIS1 (C) and TUB (D) shows an immunoreactive signal for DCX only in the N-type and in some I-type cells. The anti-LIS1 antibody stains all the cell types. When co-expressed by the same cell, TUB and DCX colocalize both in the cell body and along the neuritic processes (see inset 1 of panel E). The triple IF for DCX (G), NF-68 (H) and VIM (I) shows that none of the DCX⁺ cells is immunoreactive for VIM. Vimentin is present merely in the S-type and in some I-type DCX^- cells. Some other I-type cells do express neither DCX nor VIM (arrow in the inset 2 of panel J). The NF-68 protein is expressed by all the cell subtypes.