title: Fetal development of vomeronasal system in the goat.
abstract: Our previous study morphologically revealed that the adult goat vomeronasal (VN) system was different from the rodent and opossum one, and at least two types of VN systems exist in mammals. However, it remains unknown whether the developments in both types of VN systems are ontogenetically distinct and when the goat VN system is established. In this study, we morphologically observed the fetal development of the goat accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) and VN neuron. In the fetus, Gi2-expressing VN terminals terminated at glomeruli throughout the AOB, and no immunoreactivities for Go were detected in the nerve terminals reaching into AOB. The layer structure of AOB rapidly developed in the latter half of gestation. In the VN organ (VNO), at the middle stage of gestation, the dendritic processes of VN neuron were exposed in the VN lumen, and scattered and thin microvilli existed on the protrusion of the VN neuron. In the apical part of dendritic processes, no clear vesicle existed. However, the immunohistochemistry of an olfactory marker protein (OMP) revealed that a few VN neurons with OMP exist in VN sensory epithelium (VSE) before birth, although marked immunoreactivities were detected in adult VSE. Fetal VN neurons appeared to be underdeveloped. These results suggest that the goat VN system is ontogenetically distinct from the rodent and opossum VN systems, and is underdeveloped before birth. The goat VN system will develop and mature during the early postnatal period similar to the rodent and opossum VN systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Morphology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, 2-6 Musashidai, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8526, Japan.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takigami
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.forename: Shunji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohsako
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohkura
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ikai
authors.forename: Masumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Osada
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D019206:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go / Q000378:metabolism; D006041:Goats; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron / Q000379:methods; D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D011247:Pregnancy; D019147:Vomeronasal Organ / Q000196:embryology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules; D019206:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go