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Activation of the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling reporter in developing mouse olfactory nerve layer marks a specialized subgroup of olfactory ensheathing cells
Author(s) -
Wang YaZhou,
Molotkov Andrei,
Song Lanying,
Li Yunhong,
Pleasure David E.,
Zhou ChengJi
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/dvdy.21712
Subject(s) - biology , olfactory ensheathing glia , microbiology and biotechnology , olfactory epithelium , olfactory system , glomerulus , olfactory nerve , neuroscience , wnt signaling pathway , olfactory bulb , sensory system , nestin , anatomy , central nervous system , neural stem cell , signal transduction , stem cell , endocrinology , kidney
Wnt reporter TOPgal mice carry a β‐galactosidase (βgal) gene under the control of the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling responsive elements. We found that the intensely immunolabeled βgal + cells were co‐immunolabeled with Nestin and formed a tangentially oriented single‐cell layer in the “connecting or docking zone” where the olfactory sensory axons attached to the brain surface during mid‐gestation. During early postnatal development, βgal + cells were located in the inner olfactory nerve layer (ONLi) and co‐labeled with olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) markers S100β and NPY but not with lineage‐specific markers for neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia, demonstrating that the TOPgal marked a subpopulation of OECs. By confocal microscopy, we found that TOPgal activated processes extended along the developing glomerulus and formed multiple tunnel‐like structures that ensheathe and bridge olfactory sensory axonal bundles from ONLi to the glomerulus, which may play a key role in glomerulus formation and convergent sorting of the peripheral olfactory axons. Developmental Dynamics 237:3157–3168, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.