title: Expression of galectin-1 in the olfactory nerve pathway of rat.
abstract: The olfactory neuroepithelium is characterised by the mosaic distribution of primary olfactory neurons that express different odorant receptors and cell surface glycoconjugates. Carbohydrates are believed to form a glycocode that mediates sorting out and fasciculation of primary olfactory axons through interactions with carbohydrate-binding proteins such as galectin-1. In the present study, we describe in detail the expression pattern of galectin-1 in the developing and adult rat olfactory system. We demonstrate that galectin-1 is expressed by olfactory ensheathing cells both in olfactory nerve and within the nerve fibre layer of the olfactory bulb of the embryonic and adult rat. In the adult rat, galectin-1 was preferentially expressed by olfactory ensheathing cells in the nerve fibre layer of the ventromedial and lateral surfaces of the olfactory bulb. Galectin-1 was also expressed by subsets of periglomerular cells and granule cells, particularly in the ventromedial region of the olfactory bulb. In adult rat, the galectin-1 ligand, N-acetyl-lactosamine, was expressed by primary olfactory axons that terminated in glomeruli present in the ventromedial and lateral olfactory bulb. These results suggest that expression of galectin-1 may provide a mechanism for the sorting of subpopulations of axons in the nerve fibre layer of the olfactory bulb during development as well as play a role in the postnatal maintenance of specific glomerular connections.
authors.affiliation: Neurodevelopment Laboratory, Department of Anatomical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: St John
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Key
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000378:metabolism; D037483:Galectin 1; D006388:Hemagglutinins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D037102:Lectins; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000378:metabolism; D009832:Olfactory Nerve / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D037483:Galectin 1; D006388:Hemagglutinins; D037102:Lectins