0950-199113382006AprDevelopmentZinc-finger gene Fez in the olfactory sensory neurons regulates development of the olfactory bulb non-cell-autonomously.143314431433-43Fez is a zinc-finger gene encoding a transcriptional repressor that is expressed in the olfactory epithelium, hypothalamus, ventrolateral pallium and prethalamus at mid-gestation. To reveal its function, we generated Fez-deficient mice. The Fez-deficient mice showed several abnormalities in the olfactory system: (1) impaired axonal projection of the olfactory sensory neurons; (2) reduced size of the olfactory bulb; (3) abnormal layer formation in the olfactory bulb; and (4) aberrant rostral migration of the interneuron progenitors. Fez was not expressed in the projection neurons, interneurons or interneuron progenitors. Transgene-mediated expression of Fez in olfactory sensory neurons significantly rescued the abnormalities in olfactory axon projection and in the morphogenesis of the olfactory bulb in Fez-knockout mice. Thus, Fez is cell-autonomously required for the axon termination of olfactory sensory neurons, and Fez non-cell-autonomously controls layer formation and interneuron development in the olfactory bulb. These findings suggest that signals from olfactory sensory neurons contribute to the proper formation of the olfactory bulb.HirataTsutomuTLaboratory for Vertebrate Axis Formation, Center for Developmental Biology, RIKEN, Kobe 650-0047, Japan.NakazawaMasatoMYoshiharaSei-ichiSMiyachiHitoshiHKitamuraKunioKYoshiharaYoshihiroYHibiMasahikoMengGENBANKAB207804AK014242Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov't20060315