Differential development of binding sites for four lectins in the vomeronasal system of juvenile mouse: from the sensory transduction site to the first relay stage.

Four lectins -the galactose-specific BSI-B(4) (from Bandeiraea simplicifolia), the N-acetyl-galactosamine-specific DBA (from Dolichos biflorus), the L-fucose-specific UEA-I (from Ulex europaeus) and the (oligomeric N-acetylglucosamine)-specific LEA (from Lycopersicum esculentum)- were used to study the vomeronasal organ, vomeronasal nerves and accessory olfactory bulb of the mouse on embryonic days 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19, during the first 3 weeks after birth, at age 25 days, and after reaching maturity. No lectins labelled any structure before the 17th day of gestation, and even on the 19th day staining was sporadic and/or diffuse. During the early postnatal period, the lectin binding patterns differed from those of adults, but the division of the accessory olfactory bulb into anterior, rostral posterior and caudal posterior regions was already present and was shown up by the four lectins in a way that was coherent with the known zone-to-zone correspondence between the apical and basal zones of the sensory epithelium and the anterior and posterior accessory olfactory bulb, respectively. By age 25 days, the staining patterns were essentially those of the adult mouse. BSI-B(4) appears to be specific for the accessory vs. the main olfactory bulb throughout life.