Maturation of postnatally generated olfactory bulb granule cells depends on functional ?-protocadherin expression.

ABSTRACT: ?-protocadherins (?-pcdhs) are transmembrane receptor proteins ubiquitously expressed in the postnatal and adult mouse brain. ?-pcdhs are required for normal neuronal development as shown for spinal cord interneurons, retinal ganglion cells and cortical neurons. To test the role of ?-pcdhs during development of subventricular zone progenitor cells and their subsequent differentiation into olfactory granule cells we generated a conditional ?-pcdh(lox/lox) allele (?-pcdh(lox/lox)) allowing for functional ?-pcdh inactivation upon lentivirus-mediated Cre-recombinase expression selectively in subventricular zone progenitor cells. While ?-pcdh loss did not alter the proliferation of subventricular zone progenitors, ?-pcdh ko progenitors that reached the main olfactory bulb showed a significant reduction in dendritic arborization and failed to develop dendritic spines. Our results suggest that olfactory bulb granule cell maturation necessitates functional ?-pcdh expression.

SUBMITTER: Ledderose J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3604712 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature