A six-gene expression toolbox for the glands, epithelium and chondrocytes in the mouse nasal cavity

The nose is the central feature of the amniote face. In adults, the nose is a structurally and functionally complex organ that consists of bone, cartilage, glands and ducts. In an ongoing expression screen in our lab, we found several novel markers for specific tissues in the nasal region. Here, using in situ hybridization expression experiments, we report that Alx1, Ap-2β, Crispld1, Eya4, Moxd1, and Penk have tissue specific expression during murine nasal development. At E11.5, we observed that Alx1, Ap-2β, Crispld1, and Eya4 are expressed in the medial and lateral nasal prominences. We found that Moxd1 and Penk are expressed in the lateral nasal prominences. At E15.5, Alx1 is expressed in nasal septum. Ap-2β and Crispld1 are expressed in nasal glands and cartilages. Eya4 is expressed in olfactory epithelium. Intriguingly at E15.5 Moxd1 is expressed in all the nasal cartilage while the expression of Penk is restricted to chondrocytes contributing to the posterior nasal septum. The expression domains reported here suggest that these genes warrant functional studies to determine their role in nasal capsule morphogenesis.