Ontogeny of neurotrophin receptor trkC expression in the rat forebrain and anterior hypothalamus with emphasis on the suprachiasmatic nucleus

There is little information about neurotrophic regulation in the developing rat hypothalamus. In the present study, we therefore examined the expression of neurotrophin receptor TrkC in the developing forebrain and hypothalamus. In situ hybridization of coronal sections revealed that on the 15th day of gestation, trkC messenger RNA expression is homogeneously distributed over the neocortex, septum, thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, rhinencephalon and the amygdala. Exceptions were the anteroventral nucleus of the hypothalamus and the striatum, which showed higher levels of trkC messenger RNA expression, and the germinal zones which were devoid of trkC messenger RNA. After birth, the homogeneous staining pattern changes into a heterogeneous staining pattern like that found in adulthood. TrkC expression is observed in the area of the suprachiasmatic nucleus as early as E17 and continues until adulthood. The presence of the TrkC receptor in the E17 suprachiasmatic nucleus suggests that neurotrophin-3 plays a role in development of this structure and that application of neurotrophin-3 could stimulate neuronal survival and neuritic outgrowth in a suprachiasmatic nucleus transplantation model.