Immunolocalization of p38 MAP kinase in mouse brain.

p38 has been implicated to play a critical role in regulating apoptosis in PC12 and cerebellar granule cells, and is inactivated in cultured fetal neurons in response to insulin. Though p38 is activated in microglia after ischemia, the physiological functions of p38 in the brain are not well understood. As a first step to elucidate the physiological functions of p38 in the central nervous system, we raised a polyclonal antibody against p38 and performed immunohistochemical examination to demonstrate the localization of p38 in mouse brain. Strong p38 immunoreactivity was apparent in fiber bundles including the olfactory tract, anterior commissure, corpus callosum, cingulum, internal capsule, stria terminalis, fimbria and alveus hippocampi, fornix, stria medullaris, optic chiasm and optic tract. Although similar regions were stained with both anti-p38 and anti-neurofilament antibodies, intense p38 immunoreactivity was often observed in myelin sheath-like structures but not in axons. This is the first demonstration of the localization of p38 in the central nervous system and provides an anatomical basis for understanding physiological roles of p38.