Differential patterns of myosin Va expression during the ontogenesis of the rat hippocampus

Myosin Va is an actin-based, processive molecular motor protein highly enriched in the nervous tissue of vertebrates. It has been associated with processes of cellular motility, which include organelle transport and neurite outgrowth. The in vivo expression of myosin Va protein in the developing nervous system of mammals has not yet been reported. We describe here the immunolocalization of myosin Va in the developing rat hippocampus. Coronal sections of the embryonic and postnatal rat hippocampus were probed with an affinity-purified, polyclonal anti-myosin Va antibody. Myosin Va was localized in the cytoplasm of granule cells in the dentate gyrus and of pyramidal cells in Ammon's horn formation. Myosin Va expression changed during development, being higher in differentiating rather than already differentiated granule and pyramidal cells. Some of these cells presented a typical migratory profile, while others resembled neurons that were in the process of differentiation. Myosin Va was also transiently expressed in fibers present in the fimbria. Myosin Va was not detected in germinative matrices of the hippocampus proper or of the dentate gyrus. In conclusion, myosin Va expression in both granule and pyramidal cells showed both position and time dependency during hippocampal development, indicating that this motor protein is under developmental regulation.