Visualization of ß-Galactosidase by Enzyme and Immunohistochemistry in the Olfactory Bulb of Transgenic Mice Carrying the LacZ TransgeneGabriela Sekerková1,a,a,c, Zoya Katarovaa, Ferenc Joó2,b, Joachim R. Wolffd, Simona Prodan3,a, and Gábor Szabóa Institutes of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary b Biophysics, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary c Neurobiological Institute, Slovakian Academy of Sciences, Kosice, Slovak Republic d Department of Anatomy, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany Correspondence to: Gábor Szabó, Lab. of Molecular Neurogenetics, Inst. of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, PO Box 521, Temesvári krt. 62, Szeged, Hungary.
In the olfactory bulb (OB) of a transgenic mouse line that carries the bacterial LacZ gene under the control of the 5'-regulatory region of the GAD67 gene, expression of the ß-galactosidase was confined almost exclusively to the non-GABAergic mitral and tufted cells. By light microscopy, enzyme histochemistry showed strong staining in the cell bodies and faint diffuse staining in the axons and dendrites. With immunohistochemistry for ß-galactosidase the entire cytoplasm, including the axons and dendrites, was strongly stained. By electron microscopy, ß-galactosidase enzyme histochemistry resulted in a submicroscopic reaction product that was diffusely distributed in the cytoplasm of neurons. In addition, large deposits of the reaction product were also seen attached to the cytoplasmic side of the membranes. In contrast, when the intracellular localization of ß-galactosidase was determined by immunohistochemistry, homogeneous cytoplasmic staining was obtained that filled the entire cytoplasm including the terminal dendrites and fine axons. Therefore, synaptic contacts of the ß-galactosidase-positive output neurons with other ß-galactosidase-negative neuronal cells were readily recognized in the OB. As we demonstrated, transgenic mouse lines expressing the LacZ reporter gene in a well-defined neuronal subpopulation can be used to follow ß-galactosidase-positive neurons and to directly identify their synaptic connections. (J Histochem Cytochem 45:1147-1155, 1997) Key Words: olfactory system, output neurons, neuronal labeling, GAD-LacZ fusion protein, transgenic expression
Throughout adult life, ongoing neurogenesis and synaptic remodeling take place in the olfactory system due to continuous replacement of the olfactory receptor neurons (
Transgenic mouse lines expressing the LacZ reporter gene in a well-defined neuronal population have already been used to explore the mechanisms involved in cortical development (
Targeting of bacterial ß-galactosidase as a marker for CNS neurons can be achieved by using promoters of neuron-specific genes such as neuron-specific enolase (
Some of the transgenic mouse lines express ß-galactosidase in the OB ( The aim of our study was to find a reliable method to identify synaptic connections of a transgenically labeled neuronal population. For this purpose, here we characterize the intracellular distribution of the transgene product in the output neurons within the OB of a transgenic mouse line Tg(GAD67lacZ7.5)1 (Katarova et al., submitted for publication) by using enzyme and immunohistochemical detection of ß-galactosidase at the light and electron microscopic levels.
Transgenic Mice
Histological Processing
ß-Galactosidase Enzyme Histochemistry
ß-Galactosidase Immunohistochemistry Control sections incubated without the primary antibody, as well as sections from non-transgenic animals, showed very low background and no specific cell staining.
Electron Microscopy
To study the transcriptional regulation of the mouse GAD67 gene, we have constructed several transgenic mouse lines carrying the bacterial LacZ gene under the control of progressively longer portions of the 5'- upstream regulatory region of the GAD67 gene (Katarova et al., submitted for publication). Preliminary results indicated a striking but incorrect expression pattern of the transgene in the non-GABAergic mitral and tufted cells of the OB of the transgenic line Tg(GAD67lacZ7.5)1. Here we use this transgenic line as a model to characterize the intracellular distribution of ß-galactosidase staining within the large output neurons at light microscopic and electron microscopic level by using ß-galactosidase enzyme and immunohistochemistry.
Light Microscopy
Immunohistochemical detection of ß-galactosidase labeled the same subpopulation of neurons as revealed by enzyme histochemistry. The mitral and tufted cells were strongly stained and the OB was devoid of diffuse staining (Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5). The reaction product was mainly confined to the cytoplasm of neurons, although some nuclei were also stained (Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5). In addition to the perikarya, the dendrites and axons were also filled with reaction product (Figure 4). The strong dendritic staining was most evident in the superficial segment of the external plexiform layer, whereas the internal plexiform layer was slightly labeled (Figure 3 and Figure 4). The punctate-like accumulation of reaction product was also present in the cytoplasm of ß-galactosidase-positive neurons (Figure 4), as in Figure 2.
Electron Microscopy The product of the enzyme histochemical reaction was dispersed throughout the cytoplasm and nuclei of ß-galactosidase-positive neurons as submicroscopic grains with an average diameter of 30 nm. Within the same cells, large 0.2-0.5-µm-long electron-dense deposits of the reaction product were also present. Clusters of these electron-dense deposits were generally attached to intracellular membranes, including the nuclear envelope, mitochondria, and endoplasmic reticulum (Figure 6). On the somata of the labeled output neurons, several synapses were found with granule cells, although their presence was often masked by massive precipitate (Figure 6 and inset). Both types of precipitate were visible in the dendrites of the output neurons in the external plexiform layer (Figure 7), where dendro-dendritic synaptic contacts could be detected between labeled ß-galactosidase-positive output neurons and unlabeled ß-galactosidase-negative granule cells (Figure 7). The terminal segments of mitral/tufted cell dendrites contained very little reaction product (Figure 8). Because of the diffusion of the reaction product, we also found some precipitate in the extracellular space and in neighboring structures (Figure 7 and Figure 8).
Immunohistochemical detection of ß-galactosidase resulted in a fine reaction product that almost completely filled the cytoplasm of neurons expressing the LacZ marker gene, including perikarya (Figure 9), dendrites (Figure 10), and axons (data not shown). The reaction product was also detected in some nuclei (Figure 9). In contrast to the enzyme histochemistry, cytoplasm of terminal dendrites of output neurons entering the olfactory glomeruli contained heavily electron-dense reaction product (Figure 11; compare to Figure 8). Several synaptic contacts were found between the labeled terminal segments of output neurons and axons of the unlabeled olfactory receptor neurons (Figure 11). Synaptic specializations were also identified on the somata as well as on the dendrites of labeled output neurons (Figure 9, Figure 12, and Figure 13). At high resolution, individual and reciprocal synaptic contacts between the labeled dendrites of mitral/tufted cells and the unlabeled ß-galactosidase-negative granule cells were readily detected (Figure 12 and Figure 13).
Often, ß-galactosidase was found sequestered in large lysosome-like structures (Figure 6), which were identical to the punctate-like staining seen by light microscopy (Figure 2 and Figure 4).
In the OB of the transgenic mouse line Tg(GAD67-lacZ7.5)1, the majority of the mitral and tufted cells express the bacterial enzyme ß-galactosidase. This type of expression is regarded as incorrect (ectopic) because the large output neurons of the OB operate with glu-tamate rather than GABA as a neurotransmitter (
We have used ß-galactosidase enzyme and immunohistochemistry to identify ß-galactosidase-expressing output neurons and their synaptic connections in the OB at both light and electron microscopic levels. Using enzyme histochemistry, the blue reaction product accumulated mostly in neuronal nuclei, perikarya, and to some extent in the processes. Diffuse staining in the glomerular layer and external plexiform layer probably represents labeled processes of the output neurons. Especially strong staining of the superficial part of the external plexiform layer can be attributed to stained dendrites of the superficial tufted cells. On the other hand, the presence of diffuse patches in the internal plexiform and granule cell layers suggests axonal staining of the mitral and tufted cells. However, one cannot exclude the possibility that the diffuse staining is at least in part due to limitations of this method, i.e., diffusion of the reaction product out of the positive cells, as reported by
Diffusion was limited when Bluo-gal was used as a substrate, although X-gal was preferred for light microscopic visualization because it usually gave a brighter color reaction. Bluo-gal is a more suitable substrate for identifying ß-galactosidase-positive cells at the ultrastructural level than X-gal, as the 4-chloro-3-indolyl precipitate is more electron-dense and less diffusable. At the electron microscopic level, the Bluo-gal reaction product formed fine submicroscopic grains as well as larger electron-dense deposits bound to internal and occasionally to external membranes, which were in part also detected in some dendrites. The precipitate accumulating on the membranes makes it difficult to identify synaptic clefts on labeled neurons. In addition, diffusion of the reaction product into neighboring structures interferes with proper distinguishing between the terminal segments of the ß-galactosidase-positive output neurons with little reaction product and the ß-galactosidase-negative neuronal cells. Another obvious disadvantage of this detection system, reported also by Comparison of staining of the mitral and tufted cells after enzyme histochemistry with that after immunohistochemistry revealed several advantages of using ß-galactosidase immunohistochemistry, at least for electron microscopic studies, most notably strict intracellular localization of the reaction product and homogeneous labeling of the entire cytoplasm, including processes and their terminal segments. Using immunohistochemistry for ß-galactosidase to label output neurons expressing LacZ enabled us to readily identify synaptic connections between the ß-galactosidase-negative olfactory receptor neurons and the labeled ß-galactosidase-positive mitral/tufted cells within the glomerular layer, as well as synaptic junctions between labeled soma/dendrite of mitral/tufted cells and ß-galactosidase-negative granule cells in the external plexiform layer. The expression of ß-galactosidase in well-defined neuronal subpopulations in transgenic mouse lines carrying the LacZ reporter gene may prove useful in providing a neutral intrinsic marker for these neuronal populations that may help their identification after experimental manipulations such as transplantation, on ablation, and in cell culture. Here we show that this marker could successfully be used for identification of labeled neurons and their synaptic contacts with unlabeled neurons at the ultrastructural level, which may prove indispensible in cases where a specific marker is not available, as in the case of mitral and tufted neurons of the OB.
1 Present address: Institute of Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
Supported in part by the Hungarian Research Fund (OTKA T14645, T006373, and T016971) and the Ministry of Public Welfare (ETT T-04 029/93), by the Slovak Academy of Sciences grant No.1319, and by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SFB 406 and from the Volkswagen Stiftung (No. I-7-777). We thank Ms Ildikó Harmos, Ms Annelies Wolff, and Martha Syneková for excellent technical assistance. Received for publication October 15, 1996; accepted March 10, 1997.
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