title: Testicular receptor 2, Nr2c1, is associated with stem cells in the developing olfactory epithelium and other cranial sensory and skeletal structures.
abstract: Comparative genomic analysis of the nuclear receptor family suggests that the testicular receptor 2, Nr2c1, undergoes positive selection in the human-chimpanzee clade based upon a significant increase in nonsynonymous compared to synonymous substitutions. Previous in situ analyses of Nr2c1 lacked the temporal range and spatial resolution necessary to characterize cellular expression of this gene from early to mid gestation, when many nuclear receptors are key regulators of tissue specific stem or progenitor cells. Thus, we asked whether Nr2c1 protein is associated with stem cell populations in the mid-gestation mouse embryo. Nr2c1 is robustly expressed in the developing olfactory epithelium. Its expression in the olfactory epithelium shifts from multiple progenitor classes at early stages to primarily transit amplifying cells later in olfactory epithelium development. In the early developing central nervous system, Nr2c1 is limited to the anterior telencephalon/olfactory bulb anlagen, coincident with Nestin-positive neuroepithelial stem cells. Nr2c1 is also seen in additional cranial sensory specializations including cells surrounding the mystacial vibrissae, the retinal pigment epithelium and Scarpa's ganglion. Nr2c1 was also detected in a subset of mesenchymal cells in developing teeth and cranial bones. The timing and distribution of embryonic expression suggests that Nr2c1 is primarily associated with the early genesis of mammalian cranial sensory neurons and craniofacial skeletal structures. Thus, Nr2c1 may be a candidate for mediating parallel adaptive changes in cranial neural sensory specializations such as the olfactory epithelium, retina and mystacial vibrissae and in non-neural craniofacial features including teeth.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, USA; GW Institute for Neuroscience, The George Washington University, USA. Electronic address: jenniferlbaker7@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, USA; Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, USA.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Biology, The George Washington University, USA.
authors.forename: Beverly A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Karpinski
authors.affiliation: GW Institute for Neuroscience, The George Washington University, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony-S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: LaMantia
authors.affiliation: GW Institute for Neuroscience, The George Washington University, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Maynard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D005147:Facial Bones / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D017950:Ganglia, Sensory / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D051379:Mice; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D057107:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 2, Group C, Member 1 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000378:metabolism; D009831:Olfactory Mucosa / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D012886:Skull / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D013687:Telencephalon / Q000378:metabolism; D014070:Tooth / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C539823:Nr2c1 protein, mouse; D057107:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 2, Group C, Member 1
keywords: Ascl1; Ncam; Nr2c1; Olfactory epithelium; Pax7; TR2