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Expression of the glycinergic system during the course of embryonic development in the mouse spinal cord and its co‐localization with GABA immunoreactivity
Author(s) -
Allain AnneEmilie,
Baïri Alexia,
Meyrand Pierre,
Branchereau Pascal
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.20967
Subject(s) - spinal cord , glycine receptor , biology , glycine , lumbar , neuroscience , anatomy , embryonic stem cell , ontogeny , endocrinology , biochemistry , amino acid , gene
To understand better the role of glycine and γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the mouse spinal cord during development, we previously described the ontogeny of GABA. Now, we present the ontogeny of glycine‐immunoreactive (Gly‐ir) somata and fibers, at brachial and lumbar levels, from embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5) to postnatal day 0 (P0). Spinal Gly‐ir somata appeared at E12.5 in the ventral horn, with a higher density at the brachial level. They were intermingled with numerous Gly‐ir fibers reaching the border of the marginal zone. By E13.5, at the brachial level, the number of Gly‐ir perikarya sharply increased throughout the whole ventral horn, whereas the density of fibers declined in the marginal zone. In the dorsal horn, the first Gly‐ir somata were then detected. From E13.5 to E16.5, at the brachial level, the density of Gly‐ir cells remained stable in the ventral horn, and after E16.5 it decreased to reach a plateau. In the dorsal horn, the density of Gly‐ir cells increased, and after E16.5 it remained stable. At the lumbar level, maximum expression was reached at E16.5 in both the ventral and dorsal horn. Finally, the co‐localization of glycine and GABA was analyzed, in the ventral motor area, at E13.5, E15.5, and E17.5. The results showed that, regardless of developmental stage studied, one‐third of the stained somata co‐expressed GABA and glycine. Our data show that the glycinergic system matures 1 day later than the GABAergic system and follows a parallel spatiotemporal evolution, leading to a larger population of glycine cells in the ventral horn. J. Comp. Neurol. 496:832–846, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.