Calbindin D28K immunoreactive neurons in vomeronasal organ and their projections to the accessory olfactory bulb in the rat.
The vomeronasal system is a nasal chemosensory system involved in pheromone detection. The chemosensory receptor neurons are located in the sensory epithelium of the vomeronasal organ (VNO). Their axons terminate in the glomeruli of the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB). In this study, we examined the expression of calbindin D28k (CB) in the rat VNO and AOB. In the VNO, a subpopulation of receptor neurons in the middle layer of the sensory epithelium was immunostained with antibodies to CB. Their axons could be traced to terminate in a group of glomeruli in the anterior half of the AOB glomerular layer. This group of CB-immunostained glomeruli in the anterior half of the AOB included a few large glomeruli close to the boundary between the anterior and posterior halves of the AOB, and several small glomeruli scattered in the anterior region of the AOB glomerular layer. The positions of the CB-immunostained glomeruli in the AOB, especially those close to the anterior-posterior boundary, were similar in the two bulbs and in different rats. No sex difference was found. A developmental study showed that the CB-immunoreactive receptor neurons in the middle layer of the VNO sensory epithelium and CB-immunoreactive glomeruli in the anterior AOB were present on the 14th postnatal day and older. The distribution pattern of the CB-immunostained receptor neurons and their localized projection suggest the possibility that these neurons may express the same or functionally related pheromone receptor genes.
Jia
Changping
C
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
Halpern
Mimi
M
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D064092:Calbindin 1; D064026:Calbindins; D005260:Female; D051960:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunit, Gi2; D019206:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G / Q000378:metabolism*; D019147:Vomeronasal Organ / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000294:innervation / Q000378:metabolism*
C576500:Calb1 protein, rat; D064092:Calbindin 1; D064026:Calbindins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G; D051960:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunit, Gi2; D019206:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go; C498017:Gnai2 protein, rat