MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES TO INDIVIDUAL ANTIGENS OF THE NERVOUS-SYSTEM OF HELIX-POMATIA

Investigations over many years, aimed at identification, isolation, and analysis of the physiological role of brain-specific proteins (BSP) in the basic manifestations of nervous activity and of pathology of the nervous system, have led to the formulation of various hypotheses, defining the place and functional significance of these nerve tissue components in brain activity [3]. In the first place, these studies demonstrated the antigenic heterogeneity of neuronal structures of varied degrees of complexity, defined for BSP the role of markers, of individual cell types and of functional structures of the cell (synapses, axons; cytoskeletal elements). The use of monoclonal antibodies not only broadened the spectrum of BSP-markers, but also led to the discovery of antigens characteristic of particular stages of cell differentiation, antigens identifying neurons, arising from the neural tube or neural crest, and also antigens specific for functionally combined groups of neurons, which demonstrated that monoclonal antibodies (MCA) may be used to analyze the architecture of nerve nets responsible for completed behavioral acts [2]. This paper describes the obtaining of monoclonal antibodies to nerve tissue antigens of the snail Helix pomatia. The structure and basic functions of its nervous system have been studied in sufficient detail, neuronal nets and their elements designed for performing particular actions - fixed and acquired - have been identified. As a result, the antibody preparations obtained may be used in the future to study the physiological role of the identified antigens and their involvement in the molecular mechanisms of behavioral acts.