Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA.
J Comp Neurol. 2011 Jul 1;519(10):1829-46. doi: 10.1002/cne.22596.
The murine olfactory system consists of main and accessory systems that perform distinct and overlapping functions. The main olfactory epithelium (MOE) is primarily involved in the detection of volatile odorants, while neurons in the vomeronasal organ (VNO), part of the accessory olfactory system, are important for pheromone detection. During development, the MOE and VNO both originate from the olfactory pit; however, the mechanisms regulating development of these anatomically distinct organs from a common olfactory primordium are unknown. Here we report that two closely related zinc-finger transcription factors, FEZF1 and FEZF2, regulate the identity of MOE sensory neurons and are essential for the survival of VNO neurons respectively. Fezf1 is predominantly expressed in the MOE while Fezf2 expression is restricted to the VNO. In Fezf1-deficient mice, olfactory neurons fail to mature and also express markers of functional VNO neurons. In Fezf2-deficient mice, VNO neurons degenerate prior to birth. These results identify Fezf1 and Fezf2 as important regulators of olfactory system development and sensory neuron identity.
小鼠嗅觉系统包括主要和辅助系统，它们执行不同但重叠的功能。主要嗅觉上皮（MOE）主要参与挥发性气味的检测，而嗅球（VNO）中的神经元，辅助嗅觉系统的一部分，对于信息素的检测很重要。在发育过程中，MOE 和 VNO 均起源于嗅窝；然而，调节这些从共同的嗅原始体发育出的解剖上不同的器官的机制尚不清楚。在这里，我们报告两个密切相关的锌指转录因子 FEZF1 和 FEZF2，分别调节 MOE 感觉神经元的身份，并分别对 VNO 神经元的存活至关重要。Fezf1 主要在 MOE 中表达，而 Fezf2 的表达局限于 VNO。在 Fezf1 缺陷型小鼠中，嗅觉神经元不能成熟，也表达功能性 VNO 神经元的标志物。在 Fezf2 缺陷型小鼠中，VNO 神经元在出生前就退化了。这些结果表明，Fezf1 和 Fezf2 是嗅觉系统发育和感觉神经元身份的重要调节因子。
