Adult Olfactory Bulb Interneuron Phenotypes Identified by Targeting Embryonic and Postnatal Neural Progenitors

Abstract

Neurons are generated during embryonic development and in adulthood, although adult neurogenesis is restricted to two main brain regions, the hippocampus and olfactory bulb. The subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles generates neural stem/progenitor cells that continually provide the olfactory bulb (OB) with new granule or periglomerular neurons, cells that arrive from the SVZ via the rostral migratory stream. The continued neurogenesis and the adequate integration of these newly generated interneurons is essential to maintain homeostasis in the olfactory bulb, where the differentiation of these cells into specific neural cell types is strongly influenced by temporal cues. Therefore, identifying the critical features that control the generation of adult OB interneurons at either pre- or post-natal stages is important to understand the dynamic contribution of neural stem cells. Here, we used in utero and neonatal SVZ electroporation along with a transposase-mediated stable integration plasmid, in order to track interneurons and glial lineages in the OB. These plasmids are valuable tools to study the development of OB interneurons from embryonic and post-natal SVZ progenitors. Accordingly, we examined the location and identity of the adult progeny of embryonic and post-natally transfected progenitors by examining neurochemical markers in the adult OB. These data reveal the different cell types in the olfactory bulb that are generated in function of age and different electroporation conditions.