Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH)-expressing cells in the nasal septum of human fetuses.

In 12-19 weeks old human fetuses, LHRH-immunoreactive (LHRH-Ir) cells were detected in the nerve fascicles arising from the vomeronasal organ (VNO), from their origin to their end point at the medial aspect of the olfactory bulb (vomeronasal and/or terminal nerves). In one 22-weeks-old fetus, LHRH-Ir cells were present only in the upper part of the nasal septum, in the nerve fascicles crossing the cribriform plate. No LHRH cells could be detected in two fetuses, 23 and 36 weeks old. Our results are discussed with regard to the migratory hypothesis of LHRH cells from the medial olfactory placode to the brain.