Eur J Anat, 13 (3): 111-115 (2009)

Immunohistochemical study of Pax6 and Reissner fibre expression in the prenatal development of the mouse subcommissural organ

Perez-Garcia C.G., Carmona-Calero E.M., Gonzalez-Marrero I., Castaneyra-Ruiz L., Gonzalez-Toledo J.M., Castaneyra-Ruiz A., De Paz-Carmona H., Castaneyra-Martin M., Meyer G., Castaneyra-Perdomo A.

Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University la Laguna, La Laguna, 38071, Tenerife, Spain; Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Investigation and Science, 35600, Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura, Spain

ABSTRACT The subcommissural organ (SCO) releases glycoproteins into the ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), where they form Reissner's fibre (RF) and also secretes a CSF-soluble material different from RF-material. Pax6 is a transcription factor important for the regulation of cell proliferation, migration and differentiation in the developing brain. In the present work, we studied wild-type, heterozygous and homozygous Sey mice to compare the expression of RF-antibody and Pax6 in the SCO and adjacent structures. In wild-type mice between E15 to E18, we observed Pax6 expression in cells surrounding the secretory cells of the SCO, and RF-immunoreactive material only in the SCO ependymal cell layer and its basal process. In the heterozygous mice, the neuroanatomical structure of the SCO was present, but RF-antibody staining and Pax6 expression was scarce or almost undetectable; in the homozygous mice neither SCO nor other epithalamic structures were found. We suggest that Pax6 expression at the periphery of the SCO is essential for the development and activity of the organ.

Keywords: glycoprotein, transcription factor PAX6, article, brain development, brain ventricle, cell differentiation, cell migration, cell proliferation, cerebrospinal fluid, embryo, ependyma cell, heterozygote, homozygote, immunohistochemistry, mouse, nonhuman, prenatal development, protein expression, protein secretion, subcommissural organ, thalamus