PMID: 2507752Oct 1, 1989Paper

The adult rat olfactory system expresses microtubule-associated proteins found in the developing brain

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
C ViereckA I Matus

Abstract

We have compared the expression and localization of neuronal microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) MAP5, MAP2, and tau in the adult rat olfactory system and cerebral cortex. Each of these MAPS is known to exist as distinct "early" and "late" forms in the developing and adult brain, respectively. Because axonal growth and dendritic reinnervation continue in the adult olfactory system, it can serve as a test of whether expression of early MAP forms is necessary for neuronal growth and plasticity. We found that for all three MAPs, the early forms continue to be expressed in the adult olfactory system, whereas the cerebral cortex switches to the late forms during neuronal maturation (between 10 and 20 days of age in the rat). For MAP2, the 6 kb mRNA and low-molecular weight MAP2c, both of which are typically found in embryonic tissue, persist in the adult olfactory bulb. For MAP5, an early highly phosphorylated form, MAP5a, is present throughout the brain and disappears during maturation simultaneously with a several-fold drop in the overall level of MAP5. However, in the olfactory bulb, MAP5 levels do not fall, and MAP5a persists in the adult. The early form of tau is also prominent in the adult olfactory bulb and, by immunohisto...Continue Reading

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