Developmental regulation of carbonic anhydrase expression in mouse dorsal root ganglia.
The development of proprioceptive neurons in mammalian dorsal root ganglia (DRG) remains poorly documented since few specific markers for these neurons are known. Recent studies suggest that carbonic anhydrase (CA) is a specific marker of this functionally defined neuronal population. The present study was designed to investigate the development of CA staining in sensory neurons. We investigated CA reactivity in mouse lumbar DRGs from embryonic day 13 (E13) to postnatal day 100 (P100) using a modified cytoenzymatic Hansson method. Neuronal CA reactivity was first detected during the perinatal stage (1-3% of DRG neurons) and increased progressively from P0 to P60 when it reached a plateau (about 30-33% of DRG neurons). Statistical morphometric analysis was used to define whether CA staining identifies the same population(s) during development. The results demonstrated that, whatever the stage of development, reactive neuronal cells are included in the well-defined large type A population. The possibility that neuronal CA expression is a reliable marker of the 'functional activity' of the proprioceptive neurons in mammals is discussed. The late development expression of the enzyme (after target innervation) raises the possibility of a regulation of the CA phenotype by neuron-target interactions.
Laboratoire de Médecine Experimentale, INSERM U249, Institut de Biologie, Montpellier, France.
V
V
Mayeux
M
M
Tafti
M
M
Baldy-Moulinier
J
J
Valmier
D000818:Animals; D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases / Q000032:analysis*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000196:embryology / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development; D051379:Mice; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000201:enzymology; D010641:Phenotype
D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases