Bcl11b is required for proper odorant receptor expression in the mouse septal organ

Individual olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) in the mouse main olfactory epithelium express a single odorant receptor (OR) gene from the repertoire of either class I or class II ORs. The transcription factor Bcl11b determines the OR class to be expressed in OSNs. The septal organ (SO), a small neuroe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell and tissue research 2021-06, Vol.384 (3), p.643-653
Main Authors: Enomoto, Takayuki, Wakui, Koji, Hirota, Junji
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASCL1 protein
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Embryos
Genes
Genetic transcription
Human Genetics
Life sciences
Molecular Medicine
Neurons
Olfactory epithelium
Olfactory receptor neurons
Phenotypes
Proteins
Proteomics
Regular Article
RNA polymerase
Sensory neurons
Septum
Signal transduction
Transcription factors
Transgenic animals
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Summary:Individual olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) in the mouse main olfactory epithelium express a single odorant receptor (OR) gene from the repertoire of either class I or class II ORs. The transcription factor Bcl11b determines the OR class to be expressed in OSNs. The septal organ (SO), a small neuroepithelium located at the ventral base of the nasal septum, is considered as an olfactory subsystem because it expresses a specific subset of ORs. However, the mechanisms underlying the generation and differentiation of SO-OSN remain unknown. In the present study, we show that the generation and differentiation of SO-OSN employ the same genetic pathway as in the OSN lineage, which is initiated by the neuronal fate determinant factor Ascl1. Additionally, the key role of Bcl11b in the SO is demonstrated by the abnormal phenotypes of Bcl11b -deficient mice: significant reduction in the expression of OR genes and in the number of mature SO-OSNs. Although SO-OSNs are specified to express a subset of class II OR genes in wild-type mice, the Bcl11b deletion led to the expression of class I OR genes, while the expression of class II OR genes was significantly decreased, with one exception of Olfr15 . These results indicate that Bcl11b is necessary for proper OR expression in SO-OSNs.
ISSN:0302-766X
1432-0878
DOI:10.1007/s00441-021-03444-5