title: Expression of homeobox genes in the mouse olfactory epithelium.
abstract: Homeobox genes constitute a large family of genes widely studied because of their role in the establishment of the body pattern. However, they are also involved in many other events during development and adulthood. The main olfactory epithelium (MOE) is an excellent model to study neurogenesis in the adult nervous system. Analyses of homeobox genes during development show that some of these genes are involved in the formation and establishment of cell diversity in the MOE. Moreover, the mechanisms of expression of odorant receptors (ORs) constitute one of the biggest enigmas in the field. Analyses of OR promoters revealed the presence of homeodomain binding sites in their sequences. Here we characterize the expression patterns of a set of 49 homeobox genes in the MOE with in situ hybridization. We found that seven of them (Dlx3, Dlx5, Dlx6, Msx1, Meis1, Isl1, and Pitx1) are zonally expressed. The homeobox gene Emx1 is expressed in three guanylate cyclase(+) populations, two located in the MOE and the third one in an olfactory subsystem known as Grüneberg ganglion located at the entrance of the nasal cavity. The homeobox gene Tshz1 is expressed in a unique patchy pattern across the MOE. Our findings provide new insights to guide functional studies that aim to understand the complexity of transcription factor expression and gene regulation in the MOE. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:2713-2739, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institut für Biophysik, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parrilla
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institut für Biophysik, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institut für Biophysik, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.|Unità di Biologia Cellulare e dello Sviluppo, Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Degl'Innocenti
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institut für Biophysik, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Masayo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Omura
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D005801:Genes, Homeobox / Q000502:physiology*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009831:Olfactory Mucosa / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D000099260:Empty Spiracles Homeobox Proteins
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D000099260:Empty Spiracles Homeobox Proteins; C489361:Tshz1 protein, mouse
keywords: C57BL/6J; adult; development; in situ hybridization; olfactory sensory neurons; research resource identifiers; zonal expression