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. 2021 Apr 29:15:656882.
doi: 10.3389/fnana.2021.656882. eCollection 2021.

Widespread Doublecortin Expression in the Cerebral Cortex of the Octodon degus

Thomas van Groen  1 , Inga Kadish  1 , Natalija Popović  2   3   4 , María Caballero Bleda  2   3   4 , Beatriz Baño-Otalora  5 , María Angeles Rol  3   4   6 , Juan Antonio Madrid  3   4   6 , Miroljub Popović  2   3   4
Affiliations

Widespread Doublecortin Expression in the Cerebral Cortex of the Octodon degus

Thomas van Groen et al. Front Neuroanat. .

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that in adulthood rodents show newly born neurons in the subgranular layer (SGL) of the dentate gyrus (DG), and in the subventricular zone (SVZ). The neurons generated in the SVZ migrate through the rostral migratory stream (RMS) to the olfactory bulb. One of the markers of newly generated neurons is doublecortin (DCX). The degu similarly shows significant numbers of DCX-labeled neurons in the SGL, SVZ, and RMS. Further, most of the nuclei of these DCX-expressing neurons are also labeled by proliferating nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki67. Finally, whereas in rats and mice DCX-labeled neurons are predominantly present in the SGL and SVZ, with only a few DCX neurons present in piriform cortex, the degu also shows significant numbers of DCX expressing neurons in areas outside of SVZ, DG, and PC. Many areas of neocortex in degu demonstrate DCX-labeled neurons in layer II, and most of these neurons are found in the limbic cortices. The DCX-labeled cells do not stain with NeuN, indicating they are immature neurons.

Keywords: Octodon degus; cerebral cortex; cortical atlas; doublecortin; limbic system.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Two schematic drawings of rostral and one of caudal coronal sections, respectively, through the degu forebrain, the red dots indicate the position of doublecortin labeled cells, the boxes indicate the position of the nine photomicrographs below. Nine photomicrographs of coronal sections of a degu brain stained with doublecortin. (A) Olfactory bulb; (B) rostral migratory stream; (C), dentate gyrus; (D1) piriform cortex (PC); (D2) adjacent Nissl-stained section; (E) dorsolateral frontal cortex; (F1) prelimbic cortex; (F2) adjacent Nissl-stained section; (G) perirhinal and ectorhinal cortex. Arrow in G indicates the border between entorhinal cortex and perirhinal cortex.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Nine schematic drawings of coronal sections of the degu brain, from rostral to caudal, the dots indicate the position of doublecortin labeled cells. The open arrow indicates the rhinal sulcus. The distance between the drawings is approximately 1.5 mm, the location of bregma is indicated by the vertical arrow. EC, entorhinal cortex; PC, piriform cortex; RMS, rostral migratory stream; RS, rhinal sulcus; SGL, subgranular layer; SVZ, subventricular zone. Modified from Wright and Kern (1992).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Five photomicrographs of coronal sections of the degu brain, stained for doublecortin. (A) Olfactory bulb; (B) dentate gyrus; (C) subventricular zone (SVZ); (D) caudal piriform cortex; (E) caudal piriform cortex. Open arrow in (B) indicates labeled axons in the mossy fiber bundle, arrow in (D) indicates labeled axons innervating the posterior piriform cortex that originated from the rostral piriform cortex. Note that the doublecortin labeled neurons in the neocortical areas are pyramidal cells.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Four sets of three photomicrographs of coronal sections doublestained for neuronal markers and DCX in the piriform cortex. From top to bottom, sections stained for calbindin, calretinin, nNOS (neuronal nitric oxide), and NeuN (neuronal nucleus), respectively, please note the lack of double-labeled neurons. Bottom row, three photomicrographs of the dentate gyrus, doublestained for DCX and, parvalbumin, calretinin, and calbindin, respectively, again note the lack of doublestained neurons, indicating the DCX neurons likely are not interneurons.
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