title: Developmental changes of calretinin immunoreactivity in the lamprey spinal cord.
abstract: We studied the distribution of calretinin immunoreactivity (CR-ir) in the rostral and intermediate levels of the spinal cord of lampreys from embryonic to adult periods. CR-ir was first observed at hatching in motoneurons and primary sensory neurons of the spinal cord, the dorsal cells. During the prolarval period two new cell types showed CR-ir: ganglion cells and interneurons. Motoneurons, dorsal cells, and ganglion cells were strongly positive, whereas interneurons were weakly stained in late prolarvae. The intensity of CR-ir in these four types of cells changed during the larval period. Increase of CR-expression was found in interneurons but a decrease in dorsal cells and in ganglion cells. These changes were more evident in premetamorphic larvae. Postmetamorphic lampreys showed almost no CR-ir in dorsal cells. In adult lampreys, the interneurons showed the highest CR-ir, whereas motoneurons were more weakly stained than in earlier stages of development. Moreover, in adults the dorsal cells and the ganglion cells showed no CR-ir. The present study shows that CR-ir changes during lamprey spinal cord development in different types of neurons, sometimes in opposite ways. This plasticity of CR-expression may indicate different needs from subsets of lamprey spinal cord cells involved in the different locomotor behaviors along its life cycle.
authors.affiliation: Neurolam Group, Department of Functional Biology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain.
authors.forename: Amaia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Viloria
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Alonso
authors.forename: Verónica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Costas
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pérez-Fernández
authors.forename: Manuel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pombal
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Megías
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D064032:Calbindin 2; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D048428:Petromyzon / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G / Q000378:metabolism*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D064032:Calbindin 2; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G