Transient expression of FGF receptor-4 mRNA in the rat cerebellum during postnatal development.

The fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor-4 mRNA in the adult rat brain is expressed preferentially in the medial habenular nucleus. In this paper, we examined the expression of FGFR-4 mRNA in the brain during postnatal development. Interestingly, in addition to the persistent expression of FGFR-4 mRNA in the medial habenular nucleus, FGFR-4 mRNA was transiently expressed in the proliferative zone of the external granule layer of the developing cerebellum. The localization and transient expression of FGFR-4 mRNA in the developing cerebellum suggest that FGFR-4 mRNA was expressed by proliferative granule cells. The present findings indicate that FGFR-4 in the brain has an important role in the postnatal development of the cerebellar cortex.