Postnatal Expression of the Serotonin Transporter in Auditory Brainstem Neurons

Vol. 27, No. 1, 2005

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Original Paper

Postnatal Expression of the Serotonin Transporter in Auditory Brainstem Neurons
A.M. Thompson^a, J.M. Lauder^b

^aDepartments of Otorhinolaryngology and Cell Biology, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.,
^bDepartment of Cell and Developmental Biology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C., USA

Address of Corresponding Author

Dev Neurosci 2005;27:1-12 (DOI: 10.1159/000084527)

Key Words

Auditory brainstem development
Cochlear nucleus
Superior olivary complex

Abstract

To investigate the putative role of serotonin (5-HT) in auditory brainstem development, the expression of the 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) was evaluated in the normal mouse brainstem at 6 different postnatal ages. The brains of C3H/HeJ mice at birth (P0) and P1, P8-P9, P13, P21-P22, P35-P36 and P48-P50 were collected and processed immunohistochemically with an antibody raised against the 5-HTT. 5-HTT immunoreactivity (5-HTT-IR) was first observed in P8 mice and was localized to cell bodies in the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN) and principal nuclei of the superior olivary complex, including the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body. Labeled neurons were found in similar regions in older mice except at P48-50, where labeled neurons were observed in the VCN only. 5-HTT-IR was especially prominent in VCN neurons at P21 and was observed in all of the brains examined at this age. These results indicate that auditory brainstem neurons of the normal inbred mouse express the 5-HTT postnatally. The presence of 5-HTT-IR in neurons located in the VCN indicates a regional expression of the 5-HTT that is related to the ascending auditory pathway. The timing of 5-HTT expression indicates that 5-HT may modulate developmental processes that rely on cochlear input.

Author Contacts

Ann M. Thompson, PhD
The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, PO Box 26901
Oklahoma City, OK 73190 (USA)
Tel. +1 405 271 2069, Fax +1 405 271 3466, E-Mail ann-thompson@ouhsc.edu

Article Information

Received: July 14, 2004
Accepted: September 1, 2004
Number of Print Pages : 12
Number of Figures : 6, Number of Tables : 0, Number of References : 67

Medline Abstract (ID 15886479)

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