title: Olfactory sensory axon growth and branching is influenced by sonic hedgehog.
abstract: Olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) axons extend from the olfactory epithelium to the olfactory bulb without branching until they reach their target region, the glomerulus. In this report, we present evidence to support the involvement of sonic hedgehog in promoting rat olfactory sensory axons to branch and to enter into the glomerulus. Sonic hedgehog (Shh) protein is detected in the glomeruli of the olfactory bulb, whereas its transcript is expressed in the mitral and tufted cells, suggesting that Shh in the glomeruli is produced by mitral and tufted cells. In primary OSN cultures, Shh-N peptide promotes olfactory axon branching. When Shh function is neutralized in vivo by its antibody, growth of newly generated OSN axons into the glomeruli is vastly reduced.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA. qzgong@ucdavis.edu
authors.forename: Qizhi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Huaiyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Albert I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Farbman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D001369:Axons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006825:Hybridomas / Q000378:metabolism / Q000637:transplantation; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000187:drug effects / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D009832:Olfactory Nerve / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins