VEGF is required for dendritogenesis of newly born olfactory bulb interneurons.

The angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF) has been shown to have a role in neurogenesis, but how it affects adult neurogenesis is not fully understood. To delineate a role for VEGF in successive stages of olfactory bulb (OB) neurogenesis, we used a conditional transgenic system to suppress VEGF signaling at the adult mouse sub-ventricular zone (SVZ), rostral migratory stream (RMS) and OB, which constitute the respective sites of birth, the migration route, and sites where newly born interneurons mature and integrate within the existing OB circuitry. Following the development of fluorescently tagged adult-born neurons, we show that sequestration of VEGF that is constitutively expressed by distinct types of resident OB neurons greatly impaired dendrite development in incoming SVZ-born neurons.