Special function of nestin^+ neurons in the medial septum-diagonal band of Broca in adult rats

Nestin＋ neurons have been shown to express choline acetyltransferase （CHAT） in the medial septum-diagonal band of Broca in adult rats. This study explored the projection of nestin＋ neu-rons to the olfactory bulb and the time course of nestin＋ neurons in the medial septum-diagonal band of Broca in adult rats during injury recovery after olfactory nerve transection. This study observed that all nestin＋ neurons were double-labeled with ChAT in the medial septum-diagonal band of Broca. Approximately 53.6% of nestin~ neurons were projected to the olfactory bulb and co-labeled with fast blue. A large number of nestin~ neurons were not present in each region of the medial septum-diagonal band of Broca. Nestin＋ neurons in the medial septum and vertical limb of the diagonal band of Broca showed obvious compensatory function. The number of nestin＋ neurons decreased to a minimum later than nestin/CHAT＋ neurons in the medial sep- turn-diagonal band of Broca. The results suggest that nestin＋ cholinergic neurons may have a closer connection to olfactory bulb neurons. Nestin＋ cholinergic neurons may have a stronger tolerance to injury than Nestin/CHAT＋ neurons. The difference between nestin＋ and nestin-/ ChAT＋ neurons during the recovery process requires further investigations.