Gal-NCAM is a differentially expressed marker for mature sensory neurons in the rat olfactory system

✍ Scribed by Pays, Laurent ;Schwarting, Gary

• Book ID: 102655989
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 646 KB
• Volume: 43
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-3034
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4695(200005)43:2<173::aid-neu7>3.0.co;2-#

✦ Synopsis

A new monoclonal antibody, 2E11, was produced by immunizing mice with the microsomal fraction of rat accessory olfactory bulb cells. This IgM recognizes a previously described complex ␣-galactosyl containing glycolipid, as well as N-linked glycoproteins at 170 and 210 kD. These proteins correspond to a new nerve cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) glycoform, Gal-NCAM, which contains a blood group B-like oligosaccharide. During embryonic development, the 2E11 epitope is expressed by a subset of mature olfactory sensory neurons randomly dispersed throughout the olfactory epithelium, whereas in the olfactory bulb, im-munostaining is restricted to medial areas of the nerve layer. When compared to PSA-NCAM, another NCAM glycoform, Gal-NCAM has a mutually exclusive distribution pattern both in the olfactory epithelium and in the olfactory bulb. We propose a model for the hierarchy of neuronal maturation in the olfactory epithelium, including a switch from PSA-NCAM expression by immature neurons to the expression of Gal-NCAM by mature neurons.