Time frame of mitral cell development in the mice olfactory bulb

Along with tufted cells, mitral cells are the principal projection neurons in the olfactory bulb (OB). During the development of the OB, mitral cells migrate from the ventricular zone to the intermediate zone, where they begin to send axons along the lateral olfactory tract (LOT) to the cortical olfactory zones. Subsequently, they lose their tangential orientation, enabling them to make contact with the axons of the olfactory sensory neurons (OSN) that innervate the whole OB. Here, we investigated the distinct morphological features displayed by developing mitral cells and analyzed the relationship between the changes undertaken by these neurons and the arrival of the OSN axons. Immunostaining for specific markers of developing axons and dendrites, coupled with the use of fluorescent tracers, revealed the morphological changes, the continuous reorientation, and the final refinement that these cells undergo. We found that some of these changes are dependent on the arrival of the OSN axons. Indeed, we identified three main chronological events: 1) newly generated neurons become established in the intermediate zone and project to the LOT; 2) the cells reorient and spread their dendrites at the same time as OSN axons penetrate the OB (this is a sensitive period between embryonic day (E)15-16, in which the arrival of afferents establishes a spatial and temporal gradient that facilitates protoglomerulus and glomerulus formation); and 3) final refinement of the radially orientated cells to adopt a mature morphology. These results suggest that both afferent inputs and intrinsic factors participate to produce the well-defined sensory system.