title: Distribution of nitric oxide synthase-immunoreactive neurons in fetal rat brains at embryonic day 15 and day 19.
abstract: Although nitric oxide (NO) is hypothesized to play a role in the modelling of neuronal connections in the developing brain, no precise histological information has been reported on nitric oxide synthase immunoreactive (NOS-IR) structures in the embryonic brain. Thus, we examined the distribution of NOS-IR structures in the rat brain at embryonic day 15 (E15) and day 19 (E19), as a stage of early embryonic neurogenesis and active synaptogenesis, respectively. In the brain at E15, a few NOS-IR cell bodies were observed in the diencephalon near the 3rd ventricle and in the pons. By E19, the number of NOS-IR cells was greatly increased. Many NOS-IR cells were distributed throughout the forebrain and the medulla oblongata. NOS-IR cells of the neostriatum were located in its ventrolateral two-thirds. NOS-IR cells in the hypothalamus were distributed densely in the medial part while sparsely in the latero-ventral part, suggesting medio-lateroventral directions of NOS development. In the lower brainstem, on the other hand, NOS-IR cells were distributed in a similar pattern to that reported in adult rat, indicating earlier development of synaptic refinement in this area. The number of NOS-IR cells in the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum was very few.
authors.affiliation: Meiwa Hospital, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Terada
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitahama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology* / Q000201:enzymology*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000201:enzymology; D005865:Gestational Age; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009474:Neurons / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000276:immunology; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013569:Synapses / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase