Segregated expression of neurestin in the developing olfactory bulb

NEURESTIN is a putative transmembrane protein whose expression is developme ntally regulated in neurons. Here we examined neurestin expression pattern in mitral/tufted cells in the developing rat olfactory bulb. In the main ol factory bulb, neurestin expression was segregated in the dorso-rostral area and in the ventrocaudal area, but not in between. In the accessory olfacto ry bulb, neurestin expression was found only in the far caudal area. This a rea did not completely correspond to a caudal half of the vomeronasal nerve and glomerular layers positive for a G-protein Go alpha. These spatio-temp oral expression patterns suggest that neurestin functions as a target recog nition molecule that specifies zonal projection patterns of olfactory and v omeronasal sensory neurons. (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.