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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Mar 4.
Published in final edited form as: Genet Med. 2021 Jan 25;23(6):1008–1016. doi: 10.1038/s41436-020-01087-5

Figure 3. Semaphorin 3F and Plexin A3 are expressed along the migratory route of GnRH neurons in human fetuses.

Figure 3

Fluorescent IHC was performed to assess SEMA3F and PLXNA3 expression both in the nasal region (A) and at the nasal/forebrain junction (I) during the early fetal development. (B-D) Representative immunostaining for GnRH, Peripherin and Plexin A3 on sagittal sections of a GW7.5 human fetus. (E-H) Magnification of the boxed area in B, revealing that PLXNA3 is found in the peripherin-positive olfactory/vomeronasal scaffold, as well as in GnRH neurons (arrows) during their migration through the nasal compartment. (J-L) Representative pictures of immunolabelings for GnRH, PLXNA3 and SEMA3F on coronal sections of a GW10.5 human fetus. (M-P) Magnification of the boxed area in J. The olfactory and vomeronasal/terminal nerves still show immunoreactivity for PLXNA3 at the nose/forebrain junction. SEMA3F is strongly expressed in this region and detected along the PLXNA3-positive nerves. GnRH neurons migrating inside the forebrain do not longer express PLXNA3. fb, forebrain; ob, olfactory bulbs; oe, olfactory epithelium; on, olfactory nerves; vnn/tn, vomeronasal/terminal nerves. Scale bars: B, J = 500 μm; E, M = 10 μm.