Journal o f the Neurological Sciences, 1979,40:65-73 ~) Elsevier/North-Holland BiomedicalPress 65 ANTIBODIES TO GALACTOCEREBROSIDE BIND TO OLIGODENDROGLIA IN SUSPENSION CULTURE ROBERT P. LIsAK, ODED ABRAMSKY, SUSAN H. DORFMAN, JOAN GEORGE, MAR- GARET C. MANNING, DAVID E. PLEASURE, TAKAHIKO SAIDA and DONALD H. SIL- BERBERG Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania and Multiple Sclerosis Research Center o f the University o f Pennsylvania ~ Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA (U.S.A.) (Received 14 July, 1978) (Accepted 4 September, 1978) SUMMARY Antisera raised in rabbits against galactocerebroside bind to bovine oligoden- droglia in suspension in significant titer as demonstrated by indirect immunofluor- escence. Absorption of antigalactocerebroside antiserum with galactocerebroside, oligodendroglia, or myelin markedly reduces the antigalactocerebroside antibody ti~er as measured by a radioimmunoprecipitation test as well as the binding to oligodendro- glia. Incubation with some other galactose-containing glycolipids results in a parallel decrease in binding to oligodendroglia and reduction in antigalactocerebroside antibody titer. Antigalactocerebroside antibodies provide a useful and specific tool with which to study development of oligodendroglia and myelin as well as immunopathologic mechanisms which might be involved in demyelinating diseases. INTRODUCTION Antiserum to galactocerebroside causes in vitro demyelination and inhibition of myelination of central nervous system (CNS) organotypic cultures (Dubois-Dalcq, Niedieck and Buyse 1970; Fry, Weissbarth, Lehrer and Bornstein 1974; Saida, Silber- berg, Fry and Manning 1977; Dorfman, Fry, Silberberg, Grose and Manning 1978). This work was supported by the National MultipleSclerosisSociety(894-B), Krock Founda- tion, and NIH NS-11037. Correspondence to: Dr. Robert P. Lisak, 24 Pembridge Mews, North Kensington, London 3EQ WII, Great Britain. Reprint requests to: Dr. Robert P. Lisak,Department of Neurology,G-l, Hospitalof the Uni- versityof Pennsylvania,Philadelphia,PA 19104,U.S.A.