Cerebellar nitric oxide synthase is expressed within granule cell patches innervated by specific mossy fiber terminals: A developmental profile

The nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPH-d) staining technique was utilized as a marker of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) to map NOS expression in developing and adult rat cerebellum. NADPH-d-positive cells were first visualized in the cerebellar cortex at postnatal day 5 (PND5) which increased to peak levels by PND30 when they began to exhibit a patch-like organization. In order to determine the relationship of the NADPH-d staining pattern with mossy fiber innervation, mossy fiber projections were traced using cholera toxin B subunit or biocytin injected into the lateral reticular nuclei (LRtN) or pontine nuclei (PtN), respectively. Double staining revealed that the clustered mossy fiber terminals projecting from the ventrorostral LRtN and caudal PtN were well matched with NADPH-d-stained patches. This patch-like localization of NOS matched with specific mossy fiber terminals in adult cerebellum implicates these NOS patches as defining distinct anatomical zones.